Cat's Cradle
by LuxahHeart
Summary: After living with Kai and Tala in a three-man relationship for the past three years Ray was sure that there were no secrets between them, nothing that could break the bond they had all formed together and no skeletons left in the closet to dig out. All it took was one night for everything he knew, loved, to be flipped on it's head. KaixRayxTala. Mpreg. Blood. Lemons. Violence.
1. Chapter 1

**I'll be honest with ya'll. I hate myself sometimes. This was just supposed to be a one-shot and has now turned into a full on fic in my head, how often it'll be updated is not determined or anything like that. I've only got bits and pieces in my head on what I want to do with this fic as a whole to begin with anyways. Those expecting the sequel to The Worst Days I promise I'm still working on that at the moment, I hope to have that started on the first next month. **

**The rating is M for several reasons; Sex, violence, blood, not so much gore but we'll see what happens, and more than likely a death here or there. We'll see what the fingers decide to type out. **

**We'll be jumping right into a lemon here in this chapter, as I said it was supposed to just be a one shot. Don't wanna read it then just back out of the entire fic cus it's probably gonna be filled with those. **

**I think that's about it, hope you enjoy. **

* * *

**18 Hours Earlier:**

The ground trembled under their unsteady feet, their grips on the handles of their guns tight as they rode out the third explosion of a bomb on the top floor of the building they were in. Pieces of the building that had been blown away could be heard falling apart, shaking the entire thing on its foundation harder. Screams echoed from down the halls, the lights flickering above them frantically as the generators were trying to stay on through the assault the building was currently under until the lights gave out, casting the long hall in complete darkness.

"Shit!"

"Just calm down. If we reach the next floor we should come up to a walkway with windows."

"It's night out!"

Crimson eyes rolled at the statement, "Street lamps you idiot." He spat back at his partner hidden behind the wall across from him.

"How many hostages were there?"

"Twenty." Kai sighed, shaking his head and rubbing the sweat rolling down his face with the back of his sleeve.

"And how many more of these men are there?" Tala asked as he lifted the dead arm of the man laying between them with the tip of his boot.

"Do you ever listen to briefings?" Kai snapped at him, "There's forty… Well thirty-nine now." He said as he glanced down at the man between them.

Tala dropped the man's arm carelessly, "Have you heard anything from any of the other teams?" Tala asked as he stepped over the dead man's body and stood behind Kai.

"Two down on blue and one on purple." Kai said through grit teeth and a slight growl in the back of his throat.

"Well fuck." Tala shook his head, "I told them not to send in those rookies."

"Too late now… C'mon we have to keep going." Kai said as the tremors finally let up, hoping to use the time to actually get out of the blackened hall now while they could.

Tala followed after him obediently, icy-blue eyes darting around every opened door they passed by with his gun at his side and at the ready. They made it to the stairwell at the end of the hall, Kai pulling out a glow stick from the belt that sat over his hips that he cracked against his knee to give off a soft lime-green glow to light their steps in the black stairwell.

"You know we have lights on these, right?" Tala whispered quietly as they went in, the heavy door swinging shut behind them and they held their breaths for a second as their eyes swept around the area for any signs of their enemy or traps.

"Because that screams 'here I am, shoot me'." He bit back, rolling his eyes for what seemed the hundredth time since they had broken in through the basement almost three hours ago.

Tala bit his lip, following Kai up the first set of steps and around the corner. Pausing every now and then to breathe and scope out the area best they could with what little light the glow stick gave off.

It took longer than they thought was needed to get to the seventh floor, carefully peering around the corner of the door they had opened. At least, they both thought, was that they hadn't had to suffer through another bomb blast and had made it up the stairwell without issue.

As Kai had said the hall they were on had windows, the lights from the streetlamps barely making a dent in the darkness as the blues and reds of police cruisers, fire trucks, and ambulances danced off the walls from outside on the streets below them.

"Dammit, they weren't supposed to be here yet." Tala ground his teeth together.

"It's fine, we have our goal they have theirs."

"But, we can't let them get to him before we do. Boss will have a shit fit." Tala groaned.

Kai sighed; Tala was right but there was nothing they could do about it. More than likely the usual riffraff wouldn't even be able to get through the barricade that had been set up at every corner of the building they were currently inside. They had gone through the underground tunnels and through the basement to even get inside, thankfully without hindrance but when their four teams split up was when shit hit the fan.

They knew they were there, and they now had a smaller window to get their target and get out. If their boss had listened to them instead of insisting on the four teams Tala and Kai could have already been in and out, no casualties but after the fiasco in Orlando they had no say in the matter for once.

"Let's just hurry up." Kai said, dragging Tala's attention to him and took off down the hall like a flash of lightning.

Tala sprang up, running after him. Their feet barely making a noise down the tiled corridors as they went, for once grateful for the training they received back in the Abbey when they were children.

As they reached the end of the windowed hallway that sat over the sidewalk, connecting the two parts of the buildings together, there came a heavy rain of gunfire. The darkness they had been cast into flashing with the ends of the guns going off directly in front of them.

Kai lifted his to fire back as he slipped around the corner of the closest wall he could get to, Tala close behind him. The adrenaline that was running through them keeping them on their feet, they had felt the bullets hit their chests but the heavy armor under their shirts had kept them safe. There was a searing, burning, pain in Kai's shoulder and as the gunfire died down he chanced a look at it.

Blood was soaking through the sleeve of his shirt, what wasn't being soaked through was running down his shoulder and under his arm. It felt more like a graze than an actual hit though, he could still move it and that was all he needed to know.

"Tell them to take them out." Kai ordered quietly.

Tala nodded, eyes on the wound for a second before he pressed a finger into his ear and gave off their coordinates to the responding team. As he pulled his finger away from the small chip tucked in his ear there was a clink on the floor as something hit and then rolled down the opening of the hall they were hiding in by their feet.

"Fuck!" Kai grabbed Tala by the waist before he had a chance to move himself.

The snipers across the streets took out the opposing side as the grenade they had tossed into the hall went off in a blinding and furious explosion.

* * *

**Present Time:**

There was a slight flutter that made itself known in the pit of Ray's stomach as he heard the familiar, almost unnoticeable, whir of Kai's car as it parked in the garage off to the side of the kitchen, where he was stood and finishing up their dinner.

It had been two, agonizing long weeks that his boyfriends had been away on business. Leaving him alone in the house, going to school and his own work by himself. He had missed them, both, something fierce but knew not to crowd them the second they stepped into the door. They would want their space, get their things inside and just eat and relax. He'd be lucky if one ended up just crashing in his bed for the night, but he wasn't holding out too much hope.

He knew the routine well enough; he had been in this interesting circle of a relationship for three years now. He was the outsider, the one they had pulled into something they already had established for two years before him. He had questioned it, had his reservations about it at first until he got a taste of it.

There was a rush, when it started and even three years later the rush was still there. Still invigorating and making him feel more alive than he ever had, if he got the chance to do it again he would without hesitation.

His ears perked, the fluttering in his chest getting faster as the garage door opened off to the side of where he stood as he turned to greet them coming inside. They wore smiles, not normal big ones but the ones that always fell on their faces that he knew and had loved back when they were teenagers.

Despite being tired, they were happy to be home; Tala had probably cracked a joke before they stepped into the house and that in turn lifted the gloom mood Ray had been in since he had waved them off two weeks ago.

"Smells good Kit." Tala praised as he stepped over to him, throwing an arm around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks, should be done here in a minute." Ray smiled at the small gesture, listening to their third member shuffle around the kitchen to the dining room and taking a seat at the head of the table like he always did.

"How was the trip?" Ray asked them both, since the kitchen and dining room was open and connected.

"Oh you know, boring and stiff. Not much to tell really."  
Kai lifted a brow as he looked up at the two of them, "We closed the deal, is what he's meaning to say."

Ray smirked a little, even after so long and having grown up Kai had never really changed. Tala's personality, once he was out from under Boris, had surprised him a little.

At times he could just be as cold and hard headed as Kai was, which was always a disaster in the home when they both butt heads and or turned on him. For the most part he was flirty, spontaneous, and well rounded. He and Ray were pretty similar, though Tala had and always would have a shorter fuse than he did.

"Well that's good, would have been a waste of time and money if you went for nothing." Ray put in as he turned off the stove top, working with the weight of Tala's arm hanging around his shoulders.

That was another thing that had slightly surprised him, Tala was very touchy in and out of the home. Ray never complained, he liked the attention, but it did get bothersome at times; especially when he was trying to cook them dinner.

"Tal, leave him alone." Kai called from the table.

If anything, from being on the same team with Ray for three years of them being teenagers, he knew not to crowd him in the kitchen. Ray was just too polite to tell Tala to shove off, always having to be the one to tug the leash on his pup to get off his cat.

"You two have had each other to yourselves for two weeks, he's fine Kai." Ray said without looking at him, knowing Tala had lifted his head and stuck his tongue out at the other at the table as he shuffled around with Ray towards what he needed from the cupboards.

Kai rolled his eyes at the tongue being stuck at him before he flicked Tala off. That going unnoticed behind Ray's back, and slightly thankful for it since he didn't want him to get the impression that it was for him.

"See, he's missed me."

"I've missed you both." Ray chuckled at Tala's comment, still working under his arm as the pup had become glued to his side like a leech.

Ray passed Tala his plate of food, hoping that would finally get him unstuck and it worked. Getting a quick pat on the ass before he went and sat down a good distance away from Kai, instead of right on his left where he normally would sit.

Ray wasn't long behind him, bringing over his and Kai's plates and sat down in his normal seat on his right. Giving Tala a raised brow since he decided to dine away from them, though it was probably for the better as he could already see the fires roaring to life between the two of them.

Of course this was nothing new either, Kai got more irritable after a business trip. It was his empire; Tala was just his secretary and right hand man that got to go with him while he was left there to miss them every time. Even if he always wanted to go with them he had his own life apart from theirs, which was something he enjoyed having. He wasn't just their lover or play thing, he had a life outside of them as they had their own lives outside of him.

"How was school?" Tala asked, directing at Ray and purposely avoiding the third wheel.

"It was good." Ray nodded back, trying to swallow his food quickly so he could answer. "Passed that test I was telling you guys about, not top of the class but good enough."

"That's great Kit." Tala's smile grew the width of his mouth as he looked at him.

The table went silent for a few minutes between them, Ray knowing that the other two were probably finally feeling the weight of their trip falling on their shoulders now that they were resting and being fed.

"I took off for a week." Ray said to them, grabbing their attentions.

"Work or school?" Kai asked, giving him a questioning look.

"Both, figured it'd be nice since you two just got home and all."

Tala frowned and finally made eye contact with Kai, "You didn't tell him, did you?"

Ray blinked, glancing between them. "Tell me what?"

Kai sighed heavily before he shot a dirty look at Tala down on the other end of the table, knowing they had already argued about who needed to tell him. He had been under the impression that Tala had finally caved and did it, apparently he was wrong.

"We're leaving again, it's sudden I know and not what we usually do but something's come up that we can't ignore." Kai sighed, giving Ray his best apologetic smile.

Ray tried to smile back but his lips only twitched upward before they fell back down. "It's okay… Why don't we come with you? Since I'm off anyways?" He asked, trying to sound hopeful.

Once more Kai and Tala exchanged quiet glances at one another, "Maybe another time?" Kai settled on and touched the top of Ray's hand that was resting over the table.

Ray sighed and nodded, part of him understood but the other part felt like he was being tossed aside. With the kind of relationship he was in there was the odd one always feeling left out, the jealousy they fought to keep at bay would still seep out between them. There were times that Ray thought of walking out, only to be pulled back by the same thing that had dragged him in to start with. He couldn't leave them, he loved them both too much to walk out and he knew they loved him just the same.

"I'm really sorry Ray."

"No it's okay." Ray shrugged it off, "We'll be fine here."

Kai nodded, the table once more getting flooded with a silence as they finished their dinner. Kai gave him a quick kiss on the side of his head, buried in his hair, as Ray washed the dirty dishes before he took himself to his room. Tala wasn't far behind Kai, bidding Ray a goodnight and another kiss on the lips; their usual for all three before he retired to his own room and left Ray there in the kitchen.

He fought back the tears best he could, even if he had his own life outside of their relationship he would be lying if he said he wasn't lonely every time they were gone. He missed them, constantly worried about them. Sometimes he went days without hearing from them and he was never one to stand over their shoulders, begging to be seen or heard. He lost countless nights of sleep over it, but there wasn't anything he could really do aside from expressing a breath of relief when they called him the second they got a chance to.

Over the running water in the sink his ears perked at the soft shuffling upstairs, checking the time on the stove he sighed and probably knew Kai had went in there before he went to bed.

Out of the top cupboard he grabbed the formula and bottles, measuring it all out as the dishwasher started to kick up behind him to do the manual labor as he went upstairs to the nursery.

"Hey little one." Ray cooed as he was met with big round crimson eyes over the top of the railing, getting a two teethed smile that melted his heart.

He pulled the babe from the crib gently, the little boy immediately curling into his neck as he sucked his thumb while Ray went to the rocker that sat in the corner of the room.

"Daddy wake you up?" Ray chuckled lightly, shifting the seven month old in his arms so he could feed him.

His little boy took the bottle instantly, his crimson eyes locking on Ray's as he started to gently rock him. Praying that he could get the baby back to sleep so the other two could get some rest, his son wasn't much of a fusser but he still had his moments.

They knew this, Ray had told them what could happen and they had shrugged their shoulders at it. Ray was skeptical at first that either had believed him at all until it happened, they weren't entirely sure whose it was until the child was born via C-section seven months ago and it came out almost the spitting image of Kai.

Ray had been scared for a while, over the course of the pregnancy Kai seemed more distant than he usually was. It left Ray feeling like he had made a mistake, but then again he had told them both what the risks were without protection and Kai never used any.

When they brought their son home, expanding the household, Kai finally seemed to come around to the idea. He was a father and he took that role, like any role he was ever given in his life, seriously. Even if he wasn't home often he was still there for his son as much as possible, just like he was for the two lovers in his life. It was a lot to juggle but he took it in stride and with a pride in his heart.

After another hour had gone by and the baby was back asleep with a belly full and a clean diaper, Ray flicked off the lights of the room and cracked the door as he made his way down the hall to his own room. That was the odd thing, out of everything that had already happened the past three years, was they each had a room to themselves.

If one or both wanted something from the other they just knocked, if they got the go ahead they went in if not they turned around and went back to their own room. The doors were like their own personal barrier, something that had been treated as sacred and welcoming and neither of them dared intrude without knocking. The only door that was ever opened was the nursery, for obvious reasons.

Tonight he left his own door cracked, it was open in case one or both wanted to come see him. He didn't care what they wanted, he had missed them, but he wasn't going to go bother either one of them since they had just gotten home and looked tired. Normally it was Tala that came into see him and just lay with him, as he had settled down into the sheets it wasn't Tala's scent that drifted through the room as the bed dipped down behind him.

"He's gotten so big." Kai mused into Ray's hair, causing the neko-jin to smile and press his back closer into Kai's chest.

"He's being a real handful lately with teething." Ray sighed and could feel Kai smirk into his hair.

"Bite the daycare worker again?" Kai chuckled quietly behind him.

"He did, actually." Ray chuckled back and then shifted around in Kai's arms to face him.

Despite loving them both, opening himself up to both of them. He and Kai had a stronger bond, even without their child they still would have had it. They knew each other, had practically grown up with one another as a team for five years before the team split up and Kai left to move back to Russia.

They still talked with the odd phone call or e-mail, that was how Ray eventually got roped into where he currently was.

Kai had told him he and Tala were dating, Ray's heart had clenched but he was happy for the two of them. Then there was the reunion three years ago, prompting the three of them along with all the other bladers they had ever crossed paths with to meet again.

All three of them had one too many drinks, and somehow Ray had found himself waking up between them. They reassured him that it was fine, that if he wanted to do it again just to call them up and he did a month later.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked, leaning back just enough he could brush Ray's bangs away from his face.  
"I just missed you guys; it gets lonely here without you two around."

Kai smirked a little at him, Ray was always a people person. He did better with crowds, with someone around to talk to. How they ended up with him, being as distant and closed off as they were, was beyond Kai but he wouldn't have had it any other way.

Tala had been the breath in him but Ray was the life that gave him the reason to keep living. Without either of them, he didn't know where he would be. His son was the extra neither really expected, much less truly wanted, but even after now he still would have done it all over again. He wasn't raised to love but somehow he had found it, vowed to protect it and that was why Ray couldn't come. Couldn't know.

"I know, I promise we'll take a vacation here soon."

Ray sighed heavily, curling tighter into Kai's chest where he felt safe and secure in his arms. "Promise?"

Kai chuckled quietly, fighting with keeping his eyes open as he buried his face in Ray's hair again. "I just did."

"Yeah I know, but really promise me."

Kai kissed him on the top of the head through his hair, something he relished in doing. "I promise."

Ray smiled against Kai's neck before he placed a gentle kiss on it, "I've really missed you." He purred quietly, getting the reaction he wanted from the older male instantly by the soft groan coming from his closed lips.

"I would, but I'm tired babe." Kai breathed out heavily but didn't move away from him.

"I'll be gentle." Ray purred harder against him, leaning into Kai hard enough it got him onto his back. "Unless Tala took too much from you while you were gone."

Kai arched a brow up at him as he settled down on his waist, putting his firm hands over Ray's hips.

"Is that jealousy I hear?"

Ray shrugged his shoulders, "You two are always gone, I can't help it." He pouted.

"I know." Was all Kai could give him, he didn't like leaving him alone or in the dark but it was for the better.

"If you really don't want it I'll just go to Tala." Ray said as he started shuffling his way down Kai's legs.

It would have looked like he was leaving, if it weren't for the way he was teasingly pawing at Kai's legs as he went or the way his ass had lifted slightly in the air or the kisses he had trailed down Kai's clothed chest and stomach.

"You won't have to go far." Tala's smooth, amused, voice came from the doorway where he was leant against it with his side and watching the show with a smirk.

"Did I hear you right there Kit, you're jealous of me?" He asked as he strode into the room, closing the door behind him as he stepped up to the end of the bed.

Ray smirked a little, only Kai saw it, before he sat back up on Kai's lower legs and titled his head back where he met Tala's icy-blue eyes. Already seeing the game plan running through his head. If he wasn't so used to this his nerves would have been shot, his heart trying to break free but all he felt was relieved that he got to have both of them for the night.

"I might be." Ray said in a teasing tone, giving Tala an upside down fanged smirk that got wiped off the second Tala had grabbed him around the neck and kissed him hard. His fingers pressing just hard enough into the tan flesh that it cut his air off that much quicker.

Kai had said he was tired, he felt it down to his soul but the sight being given to him on his legs was enough to wake him up. It was a dirty little trick, they knew what they were doing, and it worked.

Slowly he sat up, listening to Ray and Tala moan as clearly one or the other slipped in a bit of tongue into the kiss. His own hands going to the front of Ray's shirt and slipping his warm hands up under the fabric, teasing the tan skin with barely-there-touches till each palm rested over his breasts. Ray had flinched and breathed heavier into the kiss he and Tala were still locked in, his hands going out to push Kai's into his chest harder where he felt the heat radiating from his skin.

Somehow they always knew how to work together around him, even if their eyes were closed and the other's mouth was latched onto a piece of skin. The moment Kai had shifted Ray's shirt higher up Tala's hands had gone from Ray's neck to it and lifted it off of him. Giving Ray time to breathe now that the air could come back into him, only to gasp out and his head to rest back into Tala's shoulder as both sides of his neck were assaulted by different mouths and teeth and tongues.

One hand went behind him to cradle the back of Tala's head, the other around Kai's and fisting the different colored hair on their heads. Tala's hand slipped between his and Kai's body like a slithering snake, sending chills running through him as Kai sucked his neck harder until they had worked it enough that his neck was pulsing and twitching in pleasurable painful throbs.

With Kai in front of him he went to working the buttons of his shirt off, his ears perking as Tala was doing the same to his own shirt; clearly neither wasting time in getting this started and done.

Kai leaned into him, filling Ray's mouth and senses with his scent and taste that blended with Tala's that had been left behind from their kissing. The wrap at the back of his neck was being lifted, Tala's long fingers gracefully unclasping it and setting his long hair free from within it's binding. A purr shook through him as Tala's fingers ran through the dark, loose, locks with care and affection that he had never thought possible upon their first meeting eight years ago.

It would always surprise him, comfort him when he needed it, how gentle they could be with him and how he could feel the love they shared through such simple caresses and kisses.

There was enough downtime that the rest of the restricting clothes could be removed, their pants they worked off themselves. Through the slight pause and change of pace Ray finally caught sight of a small, closed, wound on the rounded part of Kai's left shoulder.

"What happened?" He asked, reaching out and touching it gently with the tips of his fingers.

"Clipped the corner of a wall." Kai said, eyeing Tala behind Ray's head that had rolled his eyes at his excuse.

Ray didn't look fooled, reaching up and brushing back Kai's thick slate colored bangs as if he was on the hunt for more wounds. There was one that was new. A thin, almost invisible, line that ran from the lower corner of his right eye and into his hairline.

"And this?" Ray asked in a sigh.

It was often that when the two left one or the other came back with mysterious bruises or cuts, they would always give him the explanation of a door or a wall or that they got pushed in a crowd. The more and more they kept up with the stupid excuses the more worried he got. If it had been someone other than these two, telling him they were wounded by their own clumsiness, he would have believed them a bit better but not even his imagination could conjure up the truth.

"I'm fine." Kai sighed back, taking his wrist gently and pulling Ray's hand away from the side of his head to stop the inspection.

Ray still didn't look like he believed him but trying to pry would deprive them all of what they were in there for to begin with.

"Okay."

Kai smiled a little, leaning back into him and kissing him gently as he lowered Ray onto his back. Tala smirked down at the two, tapping Kai on the shoulder to grab his attention before he got left out of the fun. Kai sat back on his knees, Tala tossing him the bottle of lube he had grabbed from the stash in Ray's dresser earlier when they had undressed.

Kai coated his fingers as Tala took over kissing Ray, knowing he always needed the distraction before being worked. He got on his knees, reaching just high enough that he hovered over him on the bed to kiss him. The two getting lost in it, Ray grateful for the distraction as the first pulse of a burn made itself known as Kai's fingers sunk into his body.

Ray flinched, his fingers gripping above him into Tala's fiery red hair as his tongue delved into Tala's mouth. Tala's hands held either side of Ray's head back, gently caressing his hair and scalp until he felt him relax through the thrusting of Kai's fingers inside him. Then it got harder, Tala took over the kissing and Kai got more into prodding his ass in every way he liked. He would have cried out if he had the strength to do so, all he could do was tremble and writhe under the two of them.

Left panting and already sore from the waist down as Kai pulled his fingers out of him, stretching him enough that he could get in there like they both wanted. Tala stood up after kissing him through it, shifting over him as Ray opened his mouth in waiting.

As his senses were assaulted by the mix of their scent, their sweat, and the pheromones filling the room Ray was getting light headed through it all. It was like this most of the time, they were gentle at first until they got into it and he was left a mess on one of their chests and trying to remember his name. This was different though; they were going rough at the start and what that meant for the aftermath he didn't know but it excited him in a way it never had before.

Two sets of different, calloused, hands gripped and groped at his body in all the right places. Bruises were left in lines on his neck down his shoulders, and somehow he had found himself on his back with his head off the end of the bed and Tala still standing over him with his cock in his mouth.

Kai was left between his legs on his knees, bending him so far back he was surprised he hadn't snapped in half. Tala was balanced over him, pushing his cock farther into his throat as he moved his hips in a firm but gentle pace. Being aware of the damage he could cause his kitten if he was too rough at the angle they had placed him into, but he wanted to kiss the other over the top of him.

Ray's arms were hooked, secured, around the back of Tala's ass with his nails digging into the pale flesh with every new thrust at one end of his body. The fog in his head was too great that all he felt was the sway of his body with a new thrust, the moans raining from above him adding fuel to their fire.

Tala dominated the kiss he had found himself in with Kai, his tongue moving roughly around his mouth over his teeth and the insides of his cheeks. Licking up the taste of him, groaning louder through his throat and gripping Ray's chest where he had put his hands to steady himself.

Kai had been thrusting in an overbearing pace, the bed having been rocking with each movement as he drilled himself into Ray's ass until he had to slow down to return the feverish kiss Tala had initiated. His own senses being clouded by the two of them, the twist in his stomach not going unnoticed that he was grateful for the slower pace he was forced to get into.

Between the cardinal need and want, there was also the love being poured out through the three of them. A silent bond that tied them together in a way no one would ever truly understand, a bond tight enough that either one would lay their life down for the other.

The knot in Ray's stomach got to the point it hurt, the angle Kai had been hitting and rubbing his prostate that his orgasm was the first to hit and wash through him. A gurgled moan broke through his mouthful, his body left laying to twitch between the two as they smirked into the kiss before pulling away from each other and him.

Ray panted; the fog so dense in his head that he didn't register the switch around him. The way Kai had slipped out of him only to be replaced by Tala, turned around on the bed where now his feet hung off the end and Tala between his legs and slightly elevated hips and his face between Kai's legs.

Without hesitation, without waiting for either to gain enough air into their lungs, they went back into it. Tala roughly dragging Ray's ass into his hips and sinking his cock in as far as it would go as Ray took Kai's cock into his mouth roughly.

Kai's head went back with a moan, even if Ray was coming down from his high that didn't stop him working him the way he knew Kai liked. Getting his loose hair fisted in his hands, pulled and tugged in different directions by the hands coming in front of him and behind him.

With every drag and push back his own cock, that had been trapped between him and the bed, was getting rubbed off. The intensity of it all again washing through him like a boiling wave of water crashing through him. The moans coming from the man in front and behind him only intensifying as Tala drove himself back in as far as he could reach, Ray opening his throat to take Kai in as far as he could reach.

The bed rocked harder, the fingers gripped tighter and the sucking got more rigorous as the cock in his ass kept ramming in and out of him to the point it felt like he was being ripped in two. How he was going to stand, much less sit the next day was beyond him. Let alone talk any now that either end of him was sore to a point he had never felt before. What had gotten into the other two was just as a mystery as it had been since the whole thing started, but he had been to preoccupied to ask or care all that much.

Like a blessing the three hit their peak, the bed and Ray's stomach getting soaked with his release as his mouth filled with Kai's and his ass with Tala's. It took a minute before Tala pulled out of him and laid over him, a hand on his side against the bed and propping him over the top of him, and the other lifting his chin back up to take what was in his mouth.

Ray gave it away willingly, their tongues brushing and mixing their saliva and Kai's cum before Tala pulled away with a slight pop. Ray could hardly breathe as it was when Kai sat up and snatched the rest off his lips hungrily, getting a hard vibrating purr to ripple through Ray's body.

The two that were better put together helped clean him up, always taking care of the one that was left spent and worn from the activities like they were a delicate flower. Always taking care of themselves last before they found themselves surrounded by each other, arms draped around carelessly only to pull away somewhere during the night as one or another would turn in their sleep.

* * *

Crimson eyes opened at four in the morning, Ray asleep on his left and curled on his side with his back facing him. As he rolled his head to the other side he was met with icy-blue that were wide open and awake. There was a silent communication between them, Tala seeing it and silently rolled himself off the other end without disturbing the bed too much. Kai followed after him just as quietly, stiffening as Ray shifted once his warmth had left his side and relaxed when Ray's body did.

Tala and Kai waited for a second more, just to make sure he wouldn't wake up before Tala grabbed up their discarded clothes and stepped out of Ray's room and down the hall where Kai's room sat.

"We need to tell him." Tala said as he pulled his shirt over his arms and left it open, getting his pants on as Kai opened his door and stepped inside to lead the way now.

"I don't see the point in telling him." Kai said, tossing the clothes in his arms to the side as he went for his dresser on the other end of the large room.

Out of them all Kai had the master room, as it was his home. They each had decent sized rooms, with their own bathrooms, but Kai's was the biggest and more spacious of the five in the home.

"The point here is that it hurts not just me, but you, having to hide this from him." Tala said as he rolled his eyes at the back of Kai's head, hands on his hips.

"Think about Kain, maybe it's time we retired." Tala said a bit more gently, stepping up to Kai now that he had gone quiet the second his sons name came from Tala's mouth.

Tala slipped an arm around Kai's shoulders, pulling him back into his chest as he kissed the side of his face. "At least consider it here, once this job is done."

Kai nodded slowly; he had considered it thousands of times. Not just for his and Tala's safety but that if something happened to one or both of them it left Ray alone with a child and his son without the other parent.

"We need to finish this mission, that's what's important right now." Kai said after a minute of silence.

Tala huffed and pulled away from him, clearly not liking that idea but he had no room to voice his opposition to Kai's decision. He was the leader now between them, what he said went and it made Tala feel like his hands were being forced behind his back.

"Alright, what time do we leave tomorrow then?"

"We're leaving now." Kai informed, shutting his dresser now that he had the clothes he wanted from inside the drawers.

"Are you serious?"

"He's still out there Tala, unless you want headquarters to be up both our asses, and not in a good way, then yes. We're going back out there tonight." Kai said firmly, turning his eyes to lock on with Tala's almost heatedly.

Tala lifted his hands and stepped back from him, "Alright." He conceded and kept walking away from him backwards until he reached the middle of the room and left to go to his own room and pack.

Kai watched him go for a minute quietly, he didn't want to go as soon as he got back and not in the middle of the night like this either. He knew Ray would freak out, worry about them like he always did, but this in the end would benefit them all. It had to be done.

Dressed and more put together with a small black duffle bag at his side he went into the nursery, brushing back his son's tuft of dark hair fondly and gently enough it wouldn't wake him. This was the worst part of leaving, not just having to keep Ray in the dark about what kind of life he and Tala actually led but knowing that every time he came in here it might be his last.

Even with his reservations of being a father at first it had grown on him, he loved his son with all he had despite hardly being around to see him grow up. In the blink of an eye he knew he was going to lose every milestone, the guilt he felt for leaving Ray to do it on his own was crushing him until he reminded himself that it was for their safety.

One day, he hoped, that they would understand. That they knew he had put them above anything else and forgive him if never made it back home.

"You ready?" Tala asked quietly outside the nursery, trying hard not to smile at the big sap staring down at his son fast asleep and oblivious to the cruel world he had been born into.

"Yeah…" Kai nodded, pulling his hand away from Kain's head and stepped away quietly.

Tala nodded, biting back the slight twist of jealousy he always felt when it came to the extra branch that had spread across their family tree. There was a point in time that could have been his child, neither of them were sure at the time but Ray had been sure Tala had more promise of being the father than Kai did at the time up until he lost it. The loss had hit them all hard, Ray the hardest and he still carried that weight around even two years later even if he had his and Kai's child now.

It was always something Tala wanted, to be a father, and slightly he hoped that when they got back from this it could finally happen for him. Make the branch that spilled off to the side curve around and meet in the middle, make what they now had that much bigger and better between them all.

The two slipped out quietly into the first morning rays of the sun, climbing into the blacked out car that had pulled up at the drive after tossing their bags in the trunk. The car driving off down the road into the distance until it was no longer visible from the front door of their home, feeling the distance within their chests as what they were saying goodbye to and had hopes of returning to. Their fingers laced together between them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back guys! So, still don't know how often I'll update this as I'm actually working on the outline for it *gasp* I know, this story actually has a plot line for once. Anyways, thank you already to those who have come and read and reviewed and faved or followed. It really means a lot to me and I know I say that all the time but I truly do mean it.  
Anyways, no real warning for this chapter as it seems to be on the more tamer side of things aside from the fact that I didn't go over it so please ignore the problems you may come across. **

**Real quick, I had to re-upload the chapter because I made some mistakes after posting the wrong chapter to start with. I fixed the issues, so hopefully this doesn't mess with anything too badly.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The blacked out car turned down the quietly waking street, going under the garage of a building as Tala and Kai shifted in their seats and each pulled out their identification cards, showing them off to the guard standing there and getting the simple nod of the head as the gate rose for the car to pass through. As Tala and Kai put away their IDs the car continued to where it stopped at two heavy metal doors, the two climbing out one after the other and gathering their bags from the trunk before stepping through the doors.

The moment they stepped in it was quiet, going to the elevator at the end and taking it up to the fourth floor of the building. Down the hall they came to were rows of glass top desks, some occupied while others were empty and the normal office chatter that flittered through the air around them as they continued towards the back doors.

The floor they were on overlooked the city with windows spanning the walls around them, though the room they stepped into had no windows. It was wide and open, with a large screen that spanned the back wall across from the door. The screen cut into grids, showing various faces and names as there was more, loud, chatter and some yelling going on in the room around them.

The room was almost dark to the point it would have been hard to see if not for the low lighting of the computer monitors and the large screen at the back that hung above them as if it were watching their every move. Heels clacked on the tiled floors as people went from one end of the room to the next, every one who was up and moving doing so with a purpose in their stride.

With Tala's bag slung over his shoulder, Kai's held at his side, they approached the man that was barking the loudest at everyone at the large round table that sat directly below the giant screen. There were seven other people sitting around as the man was stood on the far end under the screen, commanding everyone's attentions with his boisterous voice until he glanced up at the two newcomers approaching the table and refusing to sit with the rest in the empty chairs provided for them.

What the man had been previously talking about got cut short, his reddened face turning redder at the sight of the two as he clenched his teeth and snatched a remote that sat on the round table in front of him. Turning to the giant screen, the grid pattern across it vanishing as the video he pulled up took over the width of it instantly.

"The hell do you call this?!" He barked at them, slamming the remote on the table causing three of the six there sitting to flinch back and the entire room to go quiet as the video played for all to see.

Kai and Tala humored the man and glanced up at the video playing, neither looking amused or angry but with just a neutral expression painted on their faces. The video they were all being forced to watch looked to be from security footage from the night before, watching as half of the building they were crumbled because of the explosions and grenade that had been thrown at them before they had to retreat.

"Six casualties, twelve wounded, and that's just _our_ numbers!" The man continued to yell, his face contorting in his anger. "Don't even get me started on the damage that took nearly half of the damn block! I'm getting tired of you two fucking everything up!"

Tala's face twisted as his glared at the man, "We wouldn't have fucked up if you didn't send off those rookies with us! We told you we would be better off handling it ourselves!" He fired back, dropping his bag behind him and pushed the chair out of his way to stand at the edge of the table across from the man.

"Tch, you two are lucky that you haven't been neutralized like the rest of your lil buddies. You think me, or this agency can trust you enough after what happened in Orlando?! We're lucky the damage caused the other night didn't reach that type of level!" The man yelled back, slamming his fist down on the table though neither Kai or Tala looked fazed by his threat.

"We're more use to you than you think, we're only here because we are like 'our lil buddies'. It's the only reason you wanted us here!" Tala sneered, though refrained from slamming his own fist down onto the table.

"Then start being useful! I want a detailed report of your failures on my desk in thirty!" The man scorned as he snatched the remote and cut the video footage off the giant screen behind him, bringing up the grid pattern once more.

Tala growled in the back of his throat, snatching up his bag off the floor and kicked the chair he had pulled away from the table earlier to the floor as he went. Kai following after behind him quietly back out of the room into the light of the day, that was seeping through the numerous windows the lined the room.

"I'm so fucking sick of this." Tala grumbled under his breath, finding his desk and flopping himself down into the leather cushions as he kicked up his computer.

Kai rolled his eyes with a sigh, sitting down in the desk in front of him and doing the same. Placing his bag on the floor by his feet before he turned around to face him.

"He doesn't understand what happened because he refuses to get his own damn hands dirty." Tala said before Kai could open his mouth, not even looking up at him as he started to type out his report like he had been ordered to do.

"That's the whole point of why we were hired." Kai said dully.

"And if it wasn't for us there'd be a hell lot more people dead, and they know this!" Tala argued, his fingers hitting the keys harder.

Kai nodded, turning back to his own computer as it kicked up and started to quietly get out his report for the day.

"I'm telling you; we should just quit. Let them see how much we're needed here to stop those monsters."

"You know that's not the best option. As Roman said, we'd be neutralized like the rest." Kai huffed, his fingers hitting the keys lightly compared to what Tala was doing.

"I'd like to see them fucking try; we've survived this long. It'd take a lot more than their pathetic excuse for soldiers to take us down." Tala smirked a little behind his computer screen.

Kai smirked a little at that as well with a cut of chuckle in his throat as he nodded slightly, getting the last of his report done and sending it to the printer across from the room.

"Don't tempt them." Kai said as he turned in his chair, pushing himself off to go get his paper he had printed and waited for Tala's to be printed off before going back over to him.

"They're the ones playing with fire here." Tala said with a smile as he looked up at Kai, taking his paper from him and getting up to take it to Roman's office like he had asked with twenty eight minutes to spare.

At the thick, black door Kai rapped on it with his knuckled a few times before they were called into the room. Roman looked up at them, his platinum blonde hair slicked back as his dark brown eyes locked on the two as they stepped into the room and his scowl covered his aging face again.

"Just leave them here, Anette will brief you." He pointed at the side of his desk like he was a teacher fixing to grade their papers and waved them off with the back of his hand.

Kai and Tala obeyed him, like they were school boys again, and took their leave quietly with Tala slamming the door hard behind him. Kai gave him a look that he shrugged at, knowing they couldn't do anything to either of them because they were that valuable to them.

From the room where their desks sat they went back towards the elevator, going one floor down to the third floor. Coming out into a hall with branches of other hallways, all leading in every direction with more people crowding the halls. Either carrying papers and folders at their sides or close to their chests, heels once more clacking against the polished floors as they weaved themselves through the flood of other bodies towards the last hall to their right and turned.

On either side of them were conference rooms, their walls made of glass on either side and giving the perfect view of inside and past towards the outside world and more windows that lined the outside of the building they were in. In each of the four rooms that lined the hall, two on each side, sat a long oblong table with leather chairs surrounding it with a fake potted plant and or painting somewhere in the room. The floors inside were a dark blue carpet, and a projector screen sat on the far wall away from the doors with the system hanging from the ceiling.

At the third room, to their left and their destination, they stepped through the glass door where a woman with crimson eyes and a pale complexion was sat on the table in the middle of the room. Her long dark-blue hair was pulled back from her face, it resting down her lower back as she was dressed in more of a business suit like the others within the building compared to their simple button down shirts and dark jeans and boots.

"Ah, my two favorite people." She cooed, smiling at them as they joined the other four sitting there around her as she stopped midway into her talking to greet them.

Tala fought back the eye roll as he sat down on the other end of the table, away from her. The stench of her perfume was always too overpowering that he found it hard to get close to her, much less be stuck in the same room with her and it was worse if he had the displeasure of riding the elevator with her.

He didn't like her and she didn't like him, they never got along and for that he also stayed away from her with every chance he got. There was something about her that made his skin prick even if she was a nice person, and Kai never had an issue with her or her decision to use half a bottle of perfume on herself.

"I take it Roman isn't very happy with either of you?" She asked as she slid herself off the table, standing at the front of the oblong shaped table and sat down with the others.

"What gave it away?" Tala asked in a snippy tone, rolling his head to look at her as the two pieces of his bangs fell around his face with the movement.

Anette seemed to ignore him, pulling out pictures and papers from the folder that sat on the table in front of her and spread them out across the table for everyone to see.

"As you all know, our target from two nights ago managed to escape. In total he and his fellow monsters killed roughly thirty people and wounded fifty more, on top of causing sufficient damage to the building and the surrounding areas." Anette reminded as she pushed a picture of the damage that had been caused to the area and the building.

"We are still treating this as a high level Savage, could possibly be the same one that caused the destruction in Orlando eighteen months ago. The pattern seems to be the same, though of course he's been acting alone since the Orlando incident." She said, shifting through the papers again and pushed out a picture that showed nothing but a fuzzy enhanced photo of a streak of lime-green light that filled the middle of the photo from one end to the other.

"Where the Green Flash is right now we're not sure, they seem to be in hiding at the moment so our main focus is this one." She said, once more shifting through the pages and pulled out a larger photo than the others and tossed it in the middle of the table where all sets of eyes went down and were met with teal eyes staring back from within the photo.

"We don't know when activity will start back up concerning Feathers here, but we can safely assume within a day or two and that he might not be alone this time. He is still not our final goal, as we are still on the look out for one Stanley A Dickenson." She said and tossed the photo of the old man across the table where it fell over the other photo haphazardly.

"We know nothing of this man's powers, Feathers we do but if they are creating more Fusions than we need every man out there. Roman is not looking for another botched or failed mission, and that goes for everyone at this table." Anette said, her crimson eyes darting around the room and meeting each different color that stared back at her until they fell on the mirror of her own and stopped.

"For now everyone is to stay on premises until further notice, the sooner Feathers or another Savage shows up the sooner you all can go back home to your families." She said as her eyes stayed on Kai's though everyone around her nodded all the same.

"You're all dismissed." Anette finished and sat back into her chair as the others around the table all pushed away and filed out of the room, Tala wasting no time in getting out of there and away from her stench with Kai behind him.

Anette's head rolled around, watching the two of them leave with a smile on her painted red lips until they disappeared down the hall out of her view.

"Well shit, Kit isn't going to be happy." Tala huffed as he ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ponytail he had it all tied up into at the back of his head.

"If you've noticed, he's not been happy for a while now." Kai said as they made their way back down the hall to the elevator as Tala pressed the button.

"I have noticed…" Tala breathed, the ding of the elevator going off in front of them as the doors slid open and they stepped through. Tala stalling in hitting the button for the fourth floor as he pressed his back against the metal railing.

"Think he'll leave?" He asked, looking up at Kai across from him.

Kai shook his head, "If he was going to he would have by now."

"Yeah, but… How much more do you think he can take?"

Kai cocked a brow at him, "Why are you so worried about it all of a sudden?"

Tala shrugged his shoulders, finally hitting the button for the fourth floor and pulling his arms around himself. "I don't know… Ever since Kain was born he's been acting different."

"You've been acting different too." Kai smirked a little, knowing just how jealous the two of them got with each other. It was never enough, or would eve be enough, to break apart what they all had but he understood where it came from on both sides.

For Tala he was jealous of his son, that he and Ray had something extra and that made Tala feel left out. Where with Ray he was jealous of Tala in general, always at his side constantly while under the guise of going away on business for his enterprise and the fact that it was their relationship that they pulled him into.

"No I haven't." Tala bit back defensively.

Kai's smirk grew as he stepped up to him, crowding him against the wall of the elevator as it rolled it's way up the shaft to the fourth floor.

"Is that right?" He asked, his breath hot on Tala's face where their lips barely brushed.

"Oh please, as if you've stayed the same through out this whole thing too." Tala rolled his eyes, pressing his fingertips against Kai's chest to push him back.

"I'm not the one that's jealous." Kai smirked harder as he angled his face, going towards Tala's neck that he saw lean back in waiting.

"Who said I'm jealous?" Tala bit back, swallowing hard as he waited for Kai to do something only for him to pull away a second before the ding went off and the doors opened.

Kai didn't say anything as the look on his face spelled it all out for him, causing Tala to narrow his eyes at him and hit him in the arm as he swept past him.

"Oh and like you aren't jealous of us at times." He spat over his shoulder, walking faster away from him as Kai lazily followed after him.

"I don't get jealous." Came Kai's slick voice behind him, sending a shiver to run down his spine and the comeback on his tongue was swallowed before he could get it out. The next best option was to flick him off and keep walking, yanking his bag up off the floor where he had left it under his desk and went off to the staff room.

Kai chuckled to himself as he watched him go, sitting down in his chair behind his desk and pulled out his phone. On the face of it, for his lock screen, was a picture of him and Tala almost a year ago. Just the two of them where the wallpaper on his phone was that of Ray and their son with him, he couldn't really remember where it was they had gone but Kain was roughly four months at the time the picture had been taken. Right before his hair and first set of teeth started coming in and he could sit up on his own.

Another sigh passed his lips as he hit the power button, blacking out the screen of his phone and putting it in his back pocket where it belonged and ran a hand through his slate colored bangs that fell in his face and over his eyes.

He hated this waiting game, it made him feel like a dog waiting to be called back inside the house only to be sent back outside again in a few minutes. He was tired of it, tired of hiding what he and Tala really did but there wasn't anything he could really do about it. As much as he hated it, he knew what he was doing was the right thing even if he really didn't understand the circumstances that led him to be apart of this all.

Already two years he had spent in this cycle of hiding and lying to Ray, killing the monsters that Dickenson foolishly created. Why he did, Kai didn't know. Why Brooklyn was a part of it was still an unanswered question, how many others there were like them he wasn't sure either. The Savaged Fusions almost seemed endless in numbers for the past two years and only increasing steadily.

It wasn't his job to ask questions though, he was hired to kill or bring them in alive like Tala had been. The government had sought the two out when things went haywire, hoping that their training from when they were in the Abbey would be useful and in a way it was. They were no different than the monsters they were forced to face off against, with the same threat spat at them constantly that they could end up like the others if they weren't careful or got ideas of straying.

In a way, it still felt like he was under Boris and Voltaire and back in the Abbey altogether and that feeling he hated the most.

* * *

Bleary golden eyes cracked open; every limb stiff as his ears rung with the cries of his child across the hall from his room. Apparently he had overslept and Kain was waking him up with his morning call for breakfast, his own stomach growling and then twisting violently at the thought of eating as he pushed himself off his stomach with a slight hiss through his teeth.

"Alright I'm coming." He called back to his son, his voice dry and hoarse where he rubbed at his neck and tried to wet it best he could.

It took him a bit longer to actually get himself off the bed, the activities from the night before hindering him slightly in moving at his normal pace and taking him that much longer to actually get himself out of bed and dressed. The wailing only getting louder with each passing second until he pushed through open the nursery door, Kain's cries stopping almost instantly as his tear filled crimson eyes locked onto Ray's sleep filled golden ones before he cracked another two teethed smile with the hints of another tooth peeking through the gum line.

"Alright buddy just hold on a second, I know you're hungry." Ray said sweetly as he stepped up to him, pulling him from the crib and rubbing their noses together as he purred a little in hopes of getting Kain to learn how to back.

With his son only being part neko-jin he wasn't sure how much of the neko blood he had in him, but he still held out some hope that his son would have some attributes of their heritage within him.

Little chubby arms and fingers went out, grabbing at the dark hair that was hanging loose and hanging around Ray's shoulders and pulled hard. Leaving his father trying to pry his little fingers out of the locks as he laid him on the changing table, lightly scolding his son for pulling his hair for the thousandth time since bringing him home from the hospital.

Instantly Kain's thumb went into his mouth the second his back touched the cushion of the pad, Ray getting to work on changing him quickly so he could get them downstairs and at least one of them fed before noon.

Already he knew the other two were gone, he couldn't hear or smell them in the house and his heart clenched like it always did. He had checked his phone for a message at least from one of them, though it was empty. He had debated on texting or calling them both, though had put his phone away before he did either. If they wanted him to know where they ran off to in the middle of the night they would have told him, clearly they didn't so he didn't even bother to try and pry for an answer.

Downstairs he got Kain buckled into his highchair, grabbing him a jar of food and sat down in front him. Thankfully his boy was hungry enough that he didn't spit or sputter the food into his face, and once the jar was empty he plucked him out of the chair and took him back upstairs with a bottle. Laying him back down in his crib with it as he went back to his room to shower and actually look slightly put together.

He had debated it with himself, even if he took of from work he figured he might as well still go in since the other two were gone again. Finally he won the debate once he stepped out of the shower, dressing in a long sleeve button down shirt that he tucked away into a pair of black slacks. To him it was still odd, wearing more modern styled clothes even if he had been wearing them for the past three years. Sometimes he hardly recognized himself, though the one thing that had stayed the same over the years was his knee length hair that he continued to wrap in a binding, tossing away wearing headbands some years ago.

By the time he was dressed Kain was done with his bottle. Leaving him in the crib Ray gathered his diaper bag and got it packed and ready for daycare, hauling it and his son into his arms and into his car with him and making the thirty minute drive out to where it was. Dropping Kain off in the daycare workers apprehensive hands, Ray giving her another apologetic smile for his sons biting habits and left quickly before Kain could cause a fuss about being left alone.

Guiding his car through the heavy noon traffic another thirty miles away from the daycare into the city he finally pulled into the parking garage next to one of the tallest buildings that stood out amongst the others surrounding it and lining the streets with the twenty or so others that stood around, proud and tall.

Finding a spot on the fourth landing he finally parked and cut the engine, reaching under his drivers seat and popping the false panel underneath and pulled out another black phone and turned it on. The lock and wallpaper blank, though had several messages and missed calls waiting for him. Reaching back into the false panel under his seat he pulled out the small, sleek, black hand gun from within it's holster.

Climbing out from the car he hooked the belt around his hips, putting the extra phone into his pocket and shut the car door behind him before going towards the nearest elevator. As he stood inside the small metal box, being carried up to the very top floor, he checked his usual phone again one last time before he shut it off. Once more there were no messages or calls from the other two.

There was a pain every time he came here, having to hide what he did and where he was really going. He didn't like lying to them, hiding who and what he was from them but all along had done it for their benefit and the worlds. In a way, he always hoped, that they would understand one day if they were to ever find out. With that pain he carried was always the guilt he felt on his shoulders, knowing that if it wasn't for this job he wouldn't have lost his first child a year ago.

He shook himself from his thoughts as the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor, crimson meeting gold as painted red lips upturned into a smile as the woman clutched the folders to her chest as she stepped inside the elevator with him.

"Good afternoon Director." She said sweetly, standing beside him against the back of the elevator as the doors closed on them. "I thought you were taking off for a week?"

"Change of plans." Ray said curtly, trying hard not to gag on her stench of perfume as the elevator continued it's ascent to the top floor. "What're you doing coming in so late?"

"I took the morning." She answered, "I have some news about the mission the other night, if you'd like to go over it with us later?"

Ray nodded, "Can have Brooklyn meet me in my office, if he's here?"

"He should be in recovery still."

"Recovery?" Ray asked, finally turning to look at her. "Anette… What happened?" He asked, his voice quivering slightly.

Anette sighed, rolling her head around to look at him back. "The Lap Dogs showed up. Brooklyn had it under control with our men until they came along and botched the mission completely, the Savaged Fusions destroyed half of the block and there were some thirty casualties and fifty more wounded." She said in a low, grave tone.

Ray shook his head, his heart dropping at the news. "And how many were lost on our side?" He asked, checking the dial above the elevator doors quickly; ten more floors to go.

"Dead, twelve. Wounded, six and that's including Brooklyn."

Ray shook his head again, "And do we have anything on the Lap Dogs? Anything at all?" He asked, his tone teetering on commanding.

"Not yet, they continue to evade all of our men and security footage. There's still nothing on them, not even blood samples." Anette sighed back, the elevator doors finally reaching the top floor and Ray wasting no time in quickly walking out with Anette trailing after him quickly.

"I'm going to have to go back out there…" Ray breathed as he pulled out his ID card and scanned it at the gate they came to, getting the green light and passing through as they opened.

Anette followed suit, catching up to him where he stopped to wait for her before they started for the closest set of stairs that sat on either side of the opened floor they had stepped out onto.

"You can't be serious; think of the last time you went out there." Anette tried to reason, "There isn't anyone here that can take your place either, we need you to stay here."

Ray stopped halfway up the stairs and turned back at her harshly and his pupils slit in his agitation. "And because I've been sitting behind a damn desk we've lost more men than we can count, our numbers are dwindling as it is. We've already lost Tyson to the damn Dogs, I can't lose Brooklyn too."

"So call one of the others, have them come help." Anette seemed to beg, quickly going after him up the rest of the stairs as he had turned on his heel quickly, his hair wrap snapping against the backs of his legs in his wake.

"Nobody knows where Kane or Mystel is, Oliver and Johnny already said they want nothing to do with this and Lee is Head Elder now. I can't pull him away from the Village for this, he needs to stay there incase the situation gets out of hand." He reeled off, storming across the second floor landing towards the medical ward of the floor.

Anette was out of breath trying to follow after him, "Please slow down sir, I can't keep up…" She panted.

Ray stopped short halfway down the hall, waiting for her again and gave her a soft apologetic look. "I'm sorry, have Kenny and Max meet me in my office in ten minutes."

"Yes sir." Anette huffed, still trying to catch her breath as she turned away from him and went back the way she had just come from as Ray continued down the hall.

Ray watched her go, finally able to breathe properly now that the stench of her perfume was no longer invading his oversensitive sense of smell and pushed his way through the medical wards swinging doors.

"Good afternoon Director." The receptionist at the front desk greeted, jumping from his seat as Ray stepped up to him and the chest high desk.

"Any news on Brooklyn?" Ray asked, holding his hand out where the receptionist placed a clipboard in his open palm.

Taking it from the younger male his eyes went over it all, nothing was listed as broken but there were burn marks on his upper arms and wrists and two bullet wounds in his wings.

"He's still here if you wish to go back and see him, room four."

"Thanks." Ray sighed, handing back the clipboard to the man and went down the next hall towards the room Brooklyn was currently in.

Without knocking he pushed that door open as well, coming onto the sight of Brooklyn sitting on the bed with two doctors around him stretching out his right wing to it's full length in the air as they were going over it carefully.

"I'm telling you they're fine." Brooklyn huffed as he watched them for a second before Ray's presence caught his attention and he turned to him standing in front of the closed door. His golden eyes on the wing the doctors had a hold of, checking it over himself.

"I thought you were taking off?"

"It's a good thing I didn't." Ray said as his head snapped back towards Brooklyn and stepped up to the end of the bed where he sat. "I looked at your file."

"I figured you would, but I'm really alright." Brooklyn informed him with a soft smile, "They just want to be thorough or thoroughly piss me off this morning."

Ray smirked a little where his fang slipped out, "It's protocol and you know it." He said in a softer tone than the one he had been using since he had arrived.

"When they're done and if you're actually as fine as you say, can you meet me in my office?"

"Yes of course, I can come with you now." As Brooklyn spoke the wing that was outstretched and being poked and prodded jerked out of the doctors holds and folded behind his back before they shrunk into his skin.

"That works." Ray continued to smirk, glancing at the doctors whose mouths opened to object though closed shut once they looked at him.

"Lead the way boss." Brooklyn jumped from the bed, grabbing up a spare jacket that had been left on the chair by the door as he followed Ray out of the room quickly.

The entire walk from the medical ward to Ray's office was in silence, Brooklyn already seeing the angry wheels turning in his head as he walked beside him. The way Ray was halfway using his speed to get there faster with his eyes forward didn't go unnoticed, clearly he was pissed but to Brooklyn he could also see the guilt he carried on his back for not being there during the mission with him again.

There wasn't much either of them could do about it, Ray had been forced to retire from field work once he found out he was pregnant with Kain. Not needing a repeat of the last time he tried to work in the field while pregnant, only for it to end in disaster on both ends. Brooklyn wouldn't put that on his shoulders, Ray knew that, but that still didn't lift the weight they both knew he carried.

Opening his office doors he was met with old and familiar faces, Max and Kenny giving him warm smiles from where they sat around a large table near the front of the room. It wasn't a very large room, but it worked for what he needed. There were no windows, only the lights overhead keeping the place alight. At the back of the room sat his desk and behind it against the wall was a large screen, the projector hanging above the table in the middle. A simple desktop computer sat in the middle of his own desk, with his own large theater chair though he took a seat with the others at the table in the center of the room.

Anette cleared her throat, grabbing the men's attention as he placed out the files across the table, each man picking one up and opening them. Max and Kenny glanced at each other quietly for a second, seeing the destruction that was caused two nights ago in the photos they had been given as Ray's blood boiled for a second time that day and in such a short amount of time.

"Were we able to salvage any of the Savaged Fusions?" His voice broke the tense silence that clung to the air over their heads, grabbing their attentions.

"Just a few but their leader got away." Brooklyn said, clearing his throat. "We were close until the Lap Dogs showed up, one of our men panicked, thinking they were Savages, and threw a grenade inside the building."

"Are you kidding me?!" Ray yelled, his pupils slitting again as he slammed a hand down on top of the table before pulling it back and running it through his bangs.

"Goddammit… Who?!" He asked after trying to collect himself, his eyes going back to Brooklyn sitting beside him around the table.

"Agent 731, he was killed by their snipers along with the rest of squad six." Brooklyn answered, holding Ray's gaze with his.

Ray nodded, pulling the hand that was in his hair down his face as he breathed heavier. Turning his attention on Max and Kenny across the table from him, letting his hand fall back onto the table as he leaned into his chair.

"Any progress on the reversal serum?"

"We believe we have it figured out now, if you want us to start the live trials here soon." Kenny said quickly, the years of aging turning his once small voice into one that was slightly deeper than Ray's own but not as deep as Max's had gotten.

He still wore the same thick round glasses that covered his eyes, his messy brown hair was still all over the place and his style in clothing choices hadn't changed much over the years either. Still wearing sporting a neck tie in and out of work, while he grew a scruffy goatee that somehow suited him.

Ray sat in silence for a minute, everyone watching him and waiting for his answer quietly as the stillness in the air returned.

"The sooner the better, this shit show has gone on long enough." Ray finally sighed out and with it the tension seemed to blow away with his words. "Do we know how many the Government took back?" He asked, looking between Anette on his left and Brooklyn on his right.

"It's unsure, when our men went in to do the clean up there were several bodies but they had already turned back into their human form and were dead. The surviving numbers of Savaged Fusions is still unclear because we were unsure of how many there were to begin with this time." Anette answered his question.

"How many bodies do we assume were Savages?" Ray asked, keeping his attention on her.

"At least seven out of the twelve we recovered."

Ray nodded as the wheels in his head continued to turn violently, once more knowing that it would make this easier if he went out back into the field with them.

"I know that look and you best get those ideas out of your head, you're no good to us if you're dead." Brooklyn said as he eyed Ray beside him carefully, though Ray avoided looking at him.

"Dickenson didn't leave you in charge for no reason, and without him around now we have to rely on you."

"This whole thing wouldn't have started if it wasn't for him!" Ray bit back with his eyes focused on the opened folder in front of him. "I can be a damn hypocrite about it all I want, but if he hadn't started this stupid project in the first place than we wouldn't be having to deal with _this_!"

"You know that's not fair Ray." Max called from across the table, "He was trying to prevent another disaster, he had everyone's best interests at heart here. He didn't know that someone would steal the formula and give it to the government to screw over. He lost his life, trying to protect his work, protect us."

"I know…" Ray sighed as his heart clenched on him, "I'm sorry… I just…"

"We know you're stressed and that you want to get back out there but think about your son, Kai and Tala. If something happened to you…" Max's voice wavered, as a sadness came to his big blue eyes.

"I know…" Ray repeated, unable to meet any of their eyes at this point.

He could hear it, the way Max's voice cracked and no doubt he was thinking of Tyson. It had been three months since he went missing after a mission and not even Brooklyn's foresight could tell them where he was, even though he had tried to the point his eyes bled.

They didn't know if Tyson was dead or alive, though knowing him he was more than likely alive and being held captive by the government. Either being tortured for answers or being turned into a Savage, neither outcome was good for any of them and that uncertainty weighed on all of their shoulders.

"We also don't need another Orlando incident." Anette chimed in, reminding them all of that night once more like she seemed to like to do.

Ray once more nodded, his throat clenching up on him as images of that night came to his mind. He still had the faded burn marks on his hands, had risked more that night than he ever had only to come back empty handed once more.

"For now we sit back and wait for them to make their next move, whatever it maybe." He said, commanding the room and their attention again. "We can start the tests for the reversal process now, but I want to be kept updated on everything. Please."

"You got it." Max smiled at him.

"I think that's it for now, I'm going to go over these for the time being." Ray said as he pulled the photos and papers back into the folder and closed it, signaling the meeting they were in over with and excusing them from the room.

Max and Kenny got up to leave together, following each other back out towards their lab with the ends of their white coats following behind them. Brooklyn sat there for a minute more before he got up and took his leave, Anette staying behind as Ray picked up his folder and took it to his desk.

Anette stood and stopped in front of him, putting her arms over her chest with her hip slightly out.

"I think you're doing a fine job; Dickenson would be proud of what all you've managed to accomplish."

"It doesn't feel like I've accomplished anything." Ray huffed as he shook his head.

"You just had a baby, that can't be helped." She said, giving him a soft almost motherly look. She was, he assumed, a few years older than him but of course he never asked for her age.

"Yeah, almost eight months ago! I should have been back out there by now, the only reason I haven't been is because of the pregnancy." Ray groaned.

"But now if you go out you risk not ever going back to your baby boy, and nobody wants that." Anette said as she seemed to wipe his words from the air with a wave of her wrist, pulling it back into the folds of her arms.

"How is he doing, by the way?" She asked as her red lips turned into a smile.

Ray glanced up at her, finding the question odd. She had never really asked about Kain before, she knew of him only because he had gone to work pregnant but beyond that she had never seemed to find an interest in him.

"He's fine." He answered curtly before glancing back down at the file in his hands.

Anette seemed slightly disappointed that was all she was going to get out of him but kept her mouth closed, "Well I'll leave you to it then." She smiled at him, trying to use her best secretary voice as he nodded at her to let her know he heard her.

She frowned a little but stepped out of his office quickly and quietly, shutting the door behind her and closing him off from the rest of the BBA that sat behind his closed doors.

Hours seemed to have gone by, only turning on his personal phone twice with still nothing on there before he decided to just leave it be and hope that the other two would be home when he got back. He had about lost his mind, going through the file and reading and rereading the reports that had been given to him from the men that went out that night. Feeling a headache coming on the longer he sat there going over it all until he chanced a look at the clock on his desk, finally breathing out heavily as it was almost time to leave and pick up his son from daycare.

He gathered up the reports, stuffing them back into the file and putting it away in the drawer of his desk when Anette came bursting through his door looking sick to her stomach and more pale than she usually did.

"There's an attack going on!"

Ray leapt out of his skin for a minute, it wasn't often people were able to sneak up on him like that aside from the two men he lived with and did it just because they got a kick out of it.

"What's happening?" He asked, although tired from the day he still had a job to do.

"There's a case of at least ten Savaged Fusions appearing in the Highland mall, what do you want to do?" Anette answered.

"Are the Lap Dogs there already?" He asked, his nose curling slightly as the words passed his lips.

"They are expected to be, yes."

"Then leave it for them, I don't need to send my men out back into the crossfire. Let them deal with their own mess." He said as he pushed himself away from his desk.

Anette rose a dark-blue brow, "Sir?"

"It's their problem, they wanted to mess with something they knew nothing about and created this. I'm tired of trying to help them, let the Dogs handle it." He said, his voice hinting on deadly and commanding again.

"If that's what you want, we'll see if we can get any footage from the nearby surveillance of the area." Anette offered, looking slightly upset about his decision but knew she had no real power in changing his mind or overstepping him.

"That's fine, I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he stepped away from his desk and swept past her, leaving her in his now empty office.

* * *

Sweat and blood trickled down their pale skin, the screams and cries of the people caught in the middle of the mayhem ricocheting across the malls halls and tiled floors. There were bodies strewn about, left to lie in their own puddles of blood. The sight, if they weren't so used to it, would have churned their stomachs.

There was the sound of heavy gunfire that cut through the screams as they advanced upon their targets until each and every last one had dropped dead, all ten of them, and before they themselves were either caught or spotted they vanished.

* * *

"You were supposed to bring them in alive!" Roman yelled, standing in his favorite spot at the head of the large table that sat in the control center.

Behind him were the still shots of the footage from the mall, the bodies of the people that had been killed along with the monsters they had destroyed in the process flickering across the screen in their own square of the grid pattern that spanned the length of the screen.

"You said you wanted Brooklyn; he wasn't there." Kai answered in a neutral tone, "And neither was Dickenson." He shrugged his shoulders as if he could care less.

Roman's face contorted with his anger, his brown eyes taking in the two men who were still dripping with sweat as their black skin-tight shirts clung and stuck to them and were soaked through from their blood and sweat.

"That's not the point! We could have used one of these!"

"I don't see how; they aren't coherent in that form." Tala said, eyeing the man curiously now that he had said that. "They only change back to what they were when killed, so how do you plan to use them?"

"That is above your pay grade." Roman spat out, "Now get out of my sight."

Kai and Tala did as he commanded, ready to just go home and crash again once they stepped foot into the house. As they stepped back into the room where their desks sat, the crowd that had been there during the day now thinned out, Kai stopped Tala by the arm halfway towards their desks.

"I want to talk to him."

"You know every time you do he just shuts you down." Tala sighed though the look in Kai's eyes told him he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Alright fine, I'll wait for you. But I'm taking a shower." He said, pulling himself out of Kai's hold and going to his desk to shut down his computer and then went off down the hall towards the locker rooms.

Kai took off to a side elevator that sat around the corner of the control room, pressing in his keycode for the doors and stepped in once they opened for him. Riding the smaller elevator down three floors he stepped out, going towards the two guards with rifles strapped to their chests. Standing and guarding a chain link fence that touched the ground and reached the ceiling, past the chain link door was a long hall that seemed almost endless with heavy locked metal doors on opposite sides of each other.

"I'm here to see prisoner 321." Kai said, glancing between the two men who quietly nodded.

The one on the right unlocking the door for him and shut it once he stepped through, locking it behind him again as the second guard went to the small control panel that opened the cell door Kai stopped in front of.

As the metal door opened tired brown eyes lifted under the midnight-blue fringe as Kai stepped into the room, the heavy door swinging shut behind him as he stood like an impassible wall in front of it.

The man on the floor of the cell took in Kai's appearance quietly before a smile reached the width of his mouth.

"What brings you here; captain?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Three Years Ago:**

_Taking the stone stairs into the grand estate he had been dropped off at, Ray followed the small crowd of familiar faces as other bladers filed out of their cars or taxis. There was a lag in his step as he went, tired from the plane ride from China over to Japan in the span of a day. He had been left with little time to prep, get himself ready and out of his hotel in time to be picked up. Lee had come with him, walking up the same stone stairs with him. In each of their hands were their small folded over invitations for Mr. Dickenson's reunion party. _

_ It had been two years since he had seen his former captain, his other former teammates but they were already there and accounted for when he stepped through the large opened doors that led into the estate even if he didn't see them right away. For being the retired BBA Chairman, Dickenson was doing well for himself after the fiasco that was BEGA._

_ Those that had been under Boris for his Justice Five match were there, everyone dressed in their best. There was a hoard of hired staff walking and weaving through the crowd in the main hall with silver trays, filled with glasses of champagne and an assortment of finger foods from across the globe being served. _

_ The moment Ray and Lee stepped through the doors Ray grabbed at the thin glass of bubbling liquid as a man in a white tuxedo walked past him, quickly throwing it back and smacking his lips as he flipped the invitation card between his fingers again for the umpteenth time since he had pulled it from his black suit pants pocket. _

_ Lee gave him a wary glance; Ray was jittery but he understood and kept his mouth closed as he focused on weaving them through the crowd in search of their host. _

_ As they passed through more familiar faces, all giving the two cordial hellos and nods of the heads as acknowledgment and getting them in return from the two, they stopped just short past the stairs when a man in a different colored tuxedo stopped them. _

_ "Mr. Dickenson has been waiting for your arrival. If two will please follow me." The tall man said to them, giving them a brief deep bow in respect and then gesturing out his arm for them to come. _

_ Crimson eyes followed the movement from the marble pillar he had been glued to since arriving, the redhead standing beside him and laying into his side watching just as quietly before throwing back his own thin glass of champagne as the two dark haired men disappeared down the side hall with the butler and the doors closed behind them. _

_ The room Ray and Lee had been directed into was warm and welcoming, much like the rest of the estate, with cream colored walls and marble tiled flooring. There were paintings of all sizes hung on the walls, the fireplace had been lit. The room itself looked as though it were a dinning room, though they knew they had already passed one on their way into the estate, as there was a long rectangular table that sat in the middle of the room. A large glass chandelier hung directly above it, and the curtains for the windows were pull closed tightly. _

_ More familiar faces and different colored eyes glanced their way before appreciative smiles spread across the faces that they returned almost nervously as they were seated at the long rectangular table in the center of the room. _

_ Through the faces they were missing the old aging man they all knew, who had been the reason for Ray having ever met the other male sitting across from him with a smile that spread the width of his mouth. _

_ Ray never thought he'd see the day Tyson wore a suit, much less brush his wild midnight-blue hair and step a foot outside without his hat, but there he was. Dressed to the nines like the rest of them, with his hair slicked back and all held back into a low ponytail that fell around his shoulders without his hat._

_ It had been two years since they had last seen each other, when Ray and Kai turned eighteen and the team disbanded. Kai went back to Russia where Ray went back home to his village. Tyson carried the team for another year, just reaching the point of where the past year the team finally broke apart for good. Tyson and Max were now eighteen, Max had gone back to live in New York with his mother and Tyson was left in Japan alone. _

_ Ray did his best to stay in touch with them all, keeping tabs on their day to day lives and all that they had been doing. Tyson was working his grandfathers dojo, Max was working with his mother, Kai had taken reign over his grandfathers enterprise. They were all doing well, and he was happy for them even if he missed them. _

_ Down the table, on the side that he sat, Lee was to his right and to his left sat Oliver with Johnny on Oliver's other end. Ray had seen Robert and Enrique earlier when he and Lee had arrived. Across from him sat Tyson, still grinning from ear to ear, with Rick on Tyson's right and Kane and Salima down onto Tyson's left. _

_ The door opened again, the same man in the darker tuxedo bringing in Mystel and Brooklyn from the crowd and showing them to their seats. Leaving Brooklyn at the end of the table and Mystel beside Lee at the corner seat. There were the small nods of the heads again, greeting the two newcomers into the room as the door closed again as the man in the tuxedo left them there alone. _

_ Ray took another drink of his champagne, noticing that Salima's thin tall glass was already empty and Rick was still nursing his. The noise from behind the closed door was muffled, though to Ray and Lee they could almost hear every uttered word as if they were standing out there in the crowd themselves._

_ Behind, where Tyson and the others on his end sat, was another door off to the side of the fireplace. It opened after a few minutes of silence had passed over the table, Dickenson stepping into the room while clearing his throat. Behind him Judy and Max stepped in with him, Kenny following and clutching a stack of folders to his chest. _

_ "It's wonderful to see you all, and I want to personally thank you for coming." Dickenson started as his cane tapped the tiled floor as he made his way to the chair at the end of the table, sitting down with an exhausted breath. _

_ Judy and Max stood on either side of him, Max's blue eyes meeting his old teammates eyes and giving them both a smile quietly. Kenny went around the room, thumbing through the folders and plucking one out through his stack and placed it in front of everyone as he made his way around the table quickly. _

_ Rick was the first to flip his open, Kane following suit shortly after as Ray left his closed in front of him and sipped at his drink again. Dickenson cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attentions from the folders that had previously held them from looking at him. _

_ "I'm sure you all know why you're here, so we'll just jump right into this." Dickenson started in a clear voice, his little eyes behind his glasses shifting through the sea of eyes staring back at him intently._

_ "It has been two, almost three, years since you all banded together to stop the threat of Boris Balkov and Voltaire Hiwatari again. I, and the rest of the world, owe you all a huge debt for your bravery and strength. Here, among us, are also two of those very same bladers that were close to propelling their ideas. Before, they stood on the other side of what the BBA has stood for and they are now here as our friends._

_ "Though, I'm afraid that even behind bars those two vile men still have followers. Have ways to make their plans work in their favor… I asked you all here, under secrecy of course, if you will take one last stand against them." Dickenson finished and then glanced at Judy standing behind him. _

_ The blonde woman stepped slightly forward, stopping at the edge of the table they were all sat at and cleared her throat. _

_ "What you have before you are your personal stats, from all your years of your blading careers. This experiment Mr. Dickenson and I have been working on is still new, there are risks and you'll find those in your folders as well. This is also based on volunteering; we won't force you to do this if you don't wish to._

_ "Some of you already know what this experiment entails, for those that don't please open your folders and go to page ten." As Judy asked that the folders opened and pages were flipped through. _

_ Ray inhaled heavily as he opened his folder up, thumbing slowly through the pages till he reached page ten. Taking another drink of his champagne and wishing it was something stronger to steel his nerves. _

_ "This is what our intel have found on Boris and Voltaire's next move, what they had done some years ago before some of you even met. The project was successful, in a way, but the basis of it is you will be fused with your bit-beasts individually. _

_ "The results differ, some of you may not fuse perfectly while others may fuse one hundred percent with your bit-beast. This will be our trial run, so to speak, on a larger scale. Max has already been through the process and passed. What that means for the rest of you is yet to be determined." Judy finished, glancing at her son on the other side of Dickenson for a brief moment before looking back at the others who were reading down the page. _

_ "You've got to be kidding me?" Rick's angry voice brought the rooms attention to him, "You want us to become like monsters?" He sneered, glaring hard at the woman standing close to him. _

_ "Not monsters, yes the tests are experimental at best with flimsy results, but everyone at this table shows great potential." Judy answered calmly. _

_ "Is there a way to reverse this?" Oliver asked, glancing away from his folder and to the woman and Dickenson. _

_ "Not as of yet, but we are working on it now for those who may either not be able to fuse properly or wish to just reverse the process all together." Judy explained in that same calm tone she had with Rick. _

_ "Can we know what this next threat will be like?" Kane asked next, flipping to the next page in his folder._

_ Judy sighed but smiled all the same, "There are several beings already like this, some may not know that they have this potential while others are well aware. This threat, from what we understand is a lot bigger than anything you've ever faced." _

_ "It's a matter of life and death now, that's what you mean to say?" Lee asked as he sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as his yellow eyes glared down at the paper. _

_ "Yes." Dickenson answered, his small eyes going towards Brooklyn down at the other end of the long table. _

_ "I've already gone through something like this, when Boris had formed BEGA. It's not an easy process, and as stated before the results will vary. Most of you know the damage that was caused with a simple beyblade battle, this will require higher skill. Higher volumes of weapons and more than just a simple spinning top." Brooklyn took over in talking, his folder laying closed in front of him. _

_ "This threat is immense; I have seen it in a vision. There will be a war if we don't act soon." _

_ "A war?!" Salima and Oliver sputtered out, their jaws left hanging open in shock. _

_ The others who were proposing the idea to them all nodded quietly with grave looks upon their faces. Rick pushed himself away from the table, the legs of his chair squealing against the tiled floor. His jaw was set tight as everyone looked at him again, though his heated stare was directed at Dickenson and Judy only._

_ "I'm no ones lab rat or soldier. I'm out." He stated and backed away, quickly leaving the room quietly and slammed the door shut behind him. _

_ "No one has the obligation to stay and do this, we want to make that very clear right here, right now." Judy repeated quickly. _

_ Johnny rolled his head down the side he was sitting on, glancing at Brooklyn and getting his attention. _

_ "What does it feel like, being fused with your bit-beast?" He asked in a strong voice, his arms having been crossed over his chest for sometime now though Oliver could see him visibly shaking beside him and the way he was holding his arms tight. _

_ "It hurts." Brooklyn answered with a small smile on his fair lips, "I won't lie to you, it all depends on your bond with your bit-beast. What you may get from it, what you may lose from it, all depends on that one factor alone." _

_ Ray took another swig of his drink, finishing it off and setting his glass down next to his folder. He and Driger had an interesting bond, it wasn't always strong. He had lost him three times, but the white tiger always came back to him. To be fused with him, be one with him completely, was something that he wasn't sure he wanted but the danger they were fixing to all be in was worth the risk even if he wasn't one hundred percent what type of danger it really was._

_ He had always been apprehensive, getting Driger from the start, always afraid that Lee's grandfather had made a grave mistake in giving Driger to him six years ago when he was just barely becoming a man. Now he was twenty years old, a bit wiser and more bonded with Driger. The pros and cons of doing this were too long to list, what mattered was protecting the people he always cared about and possibly the world. _

_ "I'm in." Tyson broke the momentary silence that fell on them, his ear to ear grin not once having left his face and Ray didn't miss the subtle twitch of Max's lips going up into a small smile. _

_ Kane and Salima glanced at each other briefly before they held each other's hands, "I'm in." Kane said, letting Salima's hand go as she stood up and walked out of the room without a word or look back. _

_ "I can't promise that I'll be part of this war, but I will do it as well. In case it comes to that." Oliver said next in a small voice with a fear in his eyes. _

_ "I'll do it." Johnny breathed out heavily, there too was a fear in his eyes but what it was from he wasn't even sure himself. _

_ "I will do it, but I must stay in the village once the process is done." Lee said, his arms tightening around his chest harder as he avoided looking away from the folder in front of him. _

_ Ray felt eyes on him and he swallowed his nerves as he nodded his head. Despite not wanting to do this, in his head he told himself it would be the worlds best option. To finally put Voltaire and Boris's plans to rest, hopefully end it for good now where no one else had to get hurt. _

**Present Time:**

That was what he had told himself three years ago, that what he was doing to himself was worth the risk of not being fused properly or losing all control. Death had been something he knew could happen, had understood and accepted.

It had hurt, worse than anything he had ever gone through in his life. His battle against Bryan all those years ago had nothing on the pain that coursed through every one of his nerves and veins. Filling him with Driger's power, the two becoming one in a way he had only known in movies and TV shows.

The training was just as ruthless, hard and painful. Through his blood, sweat, and tears Brooklyn oversaw his training personally for a year after the fusion. His natural born speed had been increased, along with his senses. He saw things almost one hundred times clearer, heard things that no mere human or neko-jin could now thanks to Driger. It took seven months training it all, Brooklyn was severe in his training until Ray had a hold on it all and learned to control it.

Over the course of that year those who had been the first in line to be fused, used to be Dickenson's Guinea Pigs, more bladers came in droves. Some new faces and some old. Salima had come back, her fuse wasn't successful. Everyone from the old PPB team had undergone the fusion process as the second set, only Eddy and Steve had successfully fused and Michael had barely survived.

Rick had still refused the process and Ray hadn't heard or seen him since that night he walked out three years ago. Eventually Lee sent the others to Dickenson, if there was going to be an imminent war he wanted to protect their village to the best of their abilities. Mariah and Gary had been successful where Kevin had nothing happen to him at all, and they stayed in the village with Lee once their training had been completed.

True to their word Oliver and Johnny had stayed off to the sidelines after their successful fusions, Ray had tabs on them but they refused to come help him still. Kane had been left in Japan with Tyson, everyone had been returned to their home country in preparation for the war, though Tyson came to Russia to help five months ago and then vanished two months later and now Kane had vanished off Ray's radar.

The threat had started, and so far, had stayed in Russia. Why it started there, why the Russian government wanted the project to begin or even knew about it were still questions that had been left unanswered. The others were ready though, if the threat of Savaged Fusions were to spill beyond Ray's reach; and he prayed it never did.

Three years ago was when he had sold his soul to the devil, to protect the people he loved. Three years ago was when he gained two lovers in one night of drunkenness, losing a child a year later because he had become a soulless soldier for Dickenson. Gaining the son he now had eight months ago, almost a full year after losing the first and then being put on the back burner because of it all.

He was no longer able to get out and do his job, being forced to sit behind a desk. Filling the shoes of the man he had sold his soul to for the past two years, trying to the best of his abilities to keep Brooklyn's vision from coming true. Only to lose Tyson three months ago, only to still be in the endless war they had tried to prevent for the past two years.

What the government had hoped to copy failed, the fusion process had gone haywire just as Brooklyn had predicted. Who gave it to the government was a mystery, why was the bigger question that nobody had the answer to.

For the past two years since Dickenson's death their corner of the world had seen nothing but monsters, demons, that had been created by the governments foolish ambitions and they were losing time.

A tired hand ran through his bangs, pulling them back from his face as he sat a bit longer in his car with the AC blowing on his face and his son asleep in his carrier behind him. His golden eyes fixated on the house that had become his home for the past three years, where he had created a family and memories within those walls that he wouldn't have traded for the world.

There, again, in the pit of his stomach was the guilt that always followed him home from work. Kai and Tala didn't know, would never know about the deal he had made with the devil that night three years ago. Would never know that he had sold his soul, just to protect them.

Even with Max and Kenny working on the reversal serum there wasn't a way for him to go through that process, it was for the Savaged Fusions, the ones the government had been responsible in creating and he was far from being a Savage.

Driger had fused with him almost perfectly, the training he was put through immediately after honed his skills to a fine point. Everyone's training was different, tapered to their special and direct needs and powers. Brooklyn had oversaw his training, since Brooklyn had already been fused long before any of them by Boris himself.

Ray had questioned if Tala and Kai had been fused while being in the Abbey and at the time Dickenson didn't know, never gave him an answer and now he couldn't ask him or knew of a way to find out. Though, the past three years of living with the two there were no signs; their souls were still saved and intact and he intended on keeping it that way.

Cutting the engine of his car he pulled himself together, having changed into a pair of casual clothes before leaving work, and got out to grab his son from the backseat. Hauling the carrier into his arm and at his side as he pulled out the diaper bag, slinging it over his shoulder and hip bumping the car door to close it before he started for the front door of the house.

As his heightened hearing and smell caught on to the other two inside he breathed heavier, already the lies in his head coming to mind if they asked where he was. He had told them the night before he had off school and work and yet was gone all day, it would be easy to lie to them though. He had made an art of it the past three years after all.

As he reached for his keys to unlock the front door it opened, Tala stepping aside with a wide smile as Ray stepped into the house as Tala shut the door behind him.

"Welcome home Kit." Tala kissed him on the cheek, stepping around him and going towards the archway to their right that went into the living room.

Ray followed him quietly into the large living room, Kai sitting on the L-shaped couch in the far corner of the room where Ray came and sat down the carrier with their son still asleep inside it on the floor.

"Where were you?" Kai asked as Ray flopped himself down beside him, getting to work on pulling Kain out of his carrier.

"Just out, was a nice day and all and you two were gone." He said casually with a slight shrug, though the other two didn't miss the slight bite in his tone.

"I'm sorry about that." Kai said, shifting closer to him and holding his hands out for Kain.

Ray gave him away just as Kain started to wake up, feeling drained from his 'day out'. It was nearing eight at night, he was tired but once more his desire to be around the other two overpowered his need for sleep.

"How was he today?" Kai asked, pulling his son into his chest and letting the babe rest his head over his shoulder.

"He was good, we just walked around the mall for a while and did some window shopping."

"Which mall?" Tala asked, sitting on the far end of the couch away from them.

Ray glanced up at him, hearing the urgency in his tone. "Highland, we were only there for a few hours. I heard what happened on the radio on my way home."

Tala moved his eyes towards Kai, the two exchanging a quiet glance as they both seemed to breathe easier for a second.

"You need to be careful going out Kit, those terrorist attacks are getting worse." Tala sighed, glancing back at Ray.

Ray nodded, wishing that he could tell them that what they believed were 'terrorist attacks' weren't actually that. Once more he bit his tongue, he worried about them too. Always would with how often they were gone, they were at the same amount of risk as he was because of the Savaged Fusions.

"You two be careful too." He said, making sure to look between them.

Tala smirked a little, "When are we not careful?" He asked in a teasing tone.

Ray felt his own lips upturn slightly, "Everything get done that you two needed finally?" He asked, trying to hide the hurt tone in his voice after being left alone in the middle of the night.

Kai nodded, shifting his sleeping son on his chest again. "We did, actually get a break here for a few days."

Tala rolled his eyes quietly, they had the 'break' because they were being benched. It wasn't what either wanted but their hands were being tied behind their backs once more, Roman had enough of their 'failures' and told them they would be on call if they were needed. Tala knew it was highly likely that they would be called in, leaving Ray alone and in the dark again, but that was another thing he had no control over.

Kai had once again told him they weren't going to tell Ray, that he didn't need to be pulled into their mess or know the truth. They knew that they could keep up the terrorist attack spiel as long as the media continued to do the same, it was the only real way to keep him safe in all of this.

"That's good." Ray smiled a little, though now he wished that the two would disappear again because things at work were kicking back up for himself.

"Have you two eaten?" He asked, once more looking between them.

"Why don't we go out, it's been awhile." Tala said as he grinned over his way.

"After we just talked about terrorist attacks?" Ray chuckled slightly, though he would be lying if he said he didn't like the idea of spending some actual time with them that didn't involve sex.

Tala shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the glare from Kai. "We'll all be together, should be fine if we stay out of the city."

Ray considered it, they lived out near the countryside away from the city where most of the attacks happened. How long that would last he wasn't sure though and figured he'd put that to good use while he could.

Ray glanced at Kai, he wasn't normally this quiet and wanted to get his approval before he agreed. Some habits die hard, and this was a habit he always carried after being on a team with him for five years.

"Do you want to? I can call Jean and she can sit here with him; I don't think he's going to wake up anytime soon." Ray offered, keeping his eyes on Kai as he seemed to think it over.

As much as Kai wanted to protest he felt it too, the want to just be with them for a little bit that didn't involve sex or work or lies. Just to be themselves again even if it was for a short while.

"Yeah that's fine, I'll go put him down if you two want to get ready." He said after another few second of contemplating his answer before standing, holding Kain to his chest firmly and carrying him out of the living room towards the stairs that sat in the foyer.

"Is he okay?" Ray asked once he could no longer hear Kai's footsteps on the first floor, hearing him upstairs already.

"Long day." Tala waved off, bouncing up from the couch where he had been sitting and went over to Ray and pulled him up from the couch.

"Looks like you had one too, you doing alright there Kit?" He asked with their hands held together.

Ray nodded, "Yeah, it really was a long day. But it was good, so." He shrugged a little, once more skirting around the truth.

"Well I'm glad you're safe." Was the only response Tala could think of to say, pulling Ray into his arms and breathed in heavily. A familiar scent coming off of Ray almost instantly.

"Get caught up in the perfume section?" Tala asked with a slight chuckle, trying hard not to gag as he pulled away from him and letting Ray step back from him.

Ray smelt it too, the familiar scent of someone on Tala and Kai mixed in with others and through the jumbled smells he couldn't place where the one came from.

"Yeah…" Ray answered, half questioning what Tala meant to begin with but figured he was just spouting off things like he sometimes did. "I'm gonna go get ready."

"Okay." Tala stood back, letting him leave the living room and watched as Ray started dialing the number for the babysitter as he went.

Tala sat back down on the couch to wait for the other two, taking up Ray's empty spot and rocked the carrier sitting in front of him a little with the tip of his shoe quietly. His ears perked as he heard the other two talking quietly upstairs, their voices sounding as if they were standing just inside the kitchen instead of so far away from him.

Of course the topic was about their son, the babysitter would be there in fifteen minutes and they could go. Then they parted as Ray said he wanted to shower, Tala resisted the urge from going up and joining him. It had been a while since it had just been the two of them, not that he would complain either way, but there was a plan in his head that only required him and Ray.

"You're spacing out." Kai's voice brought him back to the room, he hadn't changed much from what he had worn to work. Only having brushed his hair some and pulled it all back where the two colors blended some into the ponytail that rested just above his shoulder blades.

"No I'm not." Tala scoffed, shifting on the couch where he crossed his right leg over his left knee and laid back into the cushion more.

"I was just thinking."

"Hn, that's the same thing Tal." Kai snorted as he went around, picking up the carrier and diaper bag to put away.

"Not really, if I had been spacing out I wouldn't have heard you." Tala said with a crooked grin.

"You always hear me." Kai scoffed back, taking the things in his hands and putting them in the closest under the stairs in the foyer across from where Tala could see him through the archway.

"Where did you plan on going tonight anyways?" Kai asked, coming back into the room with a light jacket from the closest and tossed Tala's at him as he sat down on the far end.

Tala shrugged his shoulders at him, "Don't really care, somewhere with food preferably."

Kai rolled his eyes as he pulled his jacket on, leaving it open as he sat back into the leather couch himself. "Anything else?"

"Nah, it's late enough as it is." Tala shrugged again, leaving his jacket laid out over his propped up leg still. "I think we should tell him."

Kai's eyes turned to fire as they narrowed at him, "How many times are you going to bring that up? I said no."

"He was out there, today!" Tala argued back, "With your son! What if he hadn't left in time? He needs to know the real danger of this."

"I said no, Tala. That's the end of this." Kai ordered in a deep tone, making his point clear once more.

Tala went to speak when he heard the shower cut off from upstairs, closing his mouth and then pushing himself off the couch to get the door before Jean rung the doorbell and woke the baby up.

"Oh, hello Mr. Valkov." The young nineteen year old greeted, a little stunned as the door had been jerked open with her finger hovering just in front of the doorbell.

"Nice to see you again Jean, Kai's in the living room." Tala let the girl in, shutting the door and taking himself upstairs for a minute to get put more together to leave with his jacket tucked under his arm.

"Mr. Hiwatari." Jean greeted as she stepped into the living room.

Kai regarded her with a nod, standing up and leading her to the kitchen. She had done this rodeo plenty of times before but let him go through the list of things she needed to know before they left, it was the same routine every time and with it she gave the over protective father a smile and nod through it all.

"C'mon Kai, she knows where everything is." Ray laughed as he stepped into the kitchen where the other two had been for the past five minutes, Ray having heard everything for the hundredth time like she had as he made his way down the stairs.

Kai nodded at him and turned back to Jean, "If you need anything call." He reminded for the tenth time.

"I will Mr. Hiwatari, you enjoy your date." Jean smiled at him again, her jaw hurting from holding it so long.

Ray grabbed Kai's hand as he met him in the archway, Tala not far behind the two and the three finally made it out of the house and into the chilly night air.

* * *

"You haven't touched your drink Kit." Tala said as he eyed Ray's mug of beer he had ordered for the three of them, his own already empty with two more sitting beside him and one halfway down in his hand.

"Well somebody has to drive home." Ray said, eyeing Tala across from him as the wolf gave him a drunken induced grin.

"Can I have it?" Tala asked, his eyes staring hard at Ray's untouched glass.

Ray slide his glass over to Kai instead, "No, you've had enough Tala."

Tala pouted as his eyes had followed the glass as it was added to Kai's one that had been hardly touched at all, their dinner only just now getting to the table after Tala had ordered his last beer for the night.

"What's the matter with you two? We finally get to go out for the night and you two are as stiff as a board." Tala slurred, glancing between the two with Kai on his left and Ray sitting across from the two of them on the other booth.

"Nothings wrong, I'm fine." Ray lied, picking around the food on his plate that made his stomach churn. He couldn't even remember when the last time he had actually eaten anything all day, or if he even did.

"You say that, but you look like your cat just died." Tala chuckled around the rim of his mug, downing what little he had left in there.

"Thanks Tala…" Ray said dryly as he glanced at him for a second before looking back down at his food, picking around it again before he figured he might as well try to stomach some of it.

"Anytime Kit." Tala grinned at him again before he started to eat his own food in front of him, Kai already halfway through his meal.

The sooner they ate and got done the sooner he could go home and go to sleep, he had already figured Ray felt the same by his demeanor. He looked exhausted, and slightly flushed despite not having any alcohol. There was something off about him tonight, even if he had said he wanted to go out he wasn't acting like he did on the other times they went out.

Tala was too drunk to want to hold a conversation with and Kai knew that was his way of trying to drown out his emotions, like he normally would when something went to shit at work. Kai couldn't blame him; he wasn't practically thrilled at being benched either right now.

The table went quiet for a while until Ray's cellphone went off, both he and Kai glanced up at each other as their hearts sunk and the first thought they had running through their head was something was wrong with Kain. Ray sighed a breath of relief at the caller ID, it was Brooklyn.

"I'll be right back." He excused himself, answering his phone as he walked through the restaurant towards the front doors.

"Hey, everything alright?" Ray asked once he was outside.

"Where are you?" Brooklyn asked in a panicked voice.

"I'm out having dinner… What's wrong, what did you see?" Ray asked as his heart leapt into his throat this time.

"Where's Kain, is he with you?" Brooklyn asked quickly.

"Wh-What did you see?!" Ray yelled into the phone, trying hard not to tremble.

"Fire… Just, lots of fire and a babies cries." Brooklyn said in a shaky voice, "I'm sorry I couldn't get more."

"I have to go." Ray's brain hadn't even registered Brooklyn's last sentence to him as he ended the call, wanting to get in there as quickly as possible but didn't want to cause something he'd have to explain later.

With a brisk walk he went back in, the fear etched on his face as he reached the table and grabbed his jacket from the booth.

"We have to go." He ordered, his voice cracking.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked, Tala looking up at them with a quirked brow.

"We have to go, that was her. Somethings wrong." Ray went off quickly.

Kai was out of the booth before Ray even finished talking, pulling Tala out with him and slamming some money onto the table before following Ray out quickly.

"Did she say what happened?"

"I couldn't hear what she was saying." Ray shook his head, doing well over the speed limit to get them back home.

What would take them twenty minutes to get back took them less than fifteen, pulling down their road to the blinding lights of firetrucks and police cars. Ray had already thrown the car into park, leaving it running as he jumped out with Kai and Tala not far behind him.

Jean was standing there, shaking like a leaf in the wind as she watched the men approach them. Kain was being examined by one of the paramedics at the back of the ambulance, Ray going over to them as Kai stayed in front of the shaking girl.

"_What_ happened?" Kai asked in a growl.

"I-I fell asleep, l-left th-the stove on…" Jean said in a timid small voice, she had never been so careless before.

"Well shit, what's the damage in the house?" Tala asked.  
"It's not much, there was just a lot of smoke." The officer that was standing there addressed him, "Which um… Which one of you owns the house?"

"It's mine." Kai turned his murderous gaze to the man.

Tala shuffled his way over to Ray and Kain, the frightened father clutching his son to his chest now that he had been given a clean bill of health.

"How is he?" Tala asked, letting Kain take hold of his finger.

"He's fine…" Ray breathed, holding onto Kain tighter as he glanced over to where Kai was talking to the officer and saw Jean's nervous eyes shift to him.

Before he could stop himself he was already walking towards her, Tala once more following and touched his shoulder to try and calm him down.

"It was an accident."

"That's not an excuse! The hell is your problem, falling asleep with the fucking stove on? What kind of moron are you?!" Ray went off, his pupils slitting in his anger.

"I'm really… Really sorry Mr. Kon." Jean sobbed, "I-I didn't mean to."

Ray held back from saying what was really going through his mind, settling on the lesser of his words as he held her eyes with his.  
"Just go. You're done here." He informed in a dark tone, one that he didn't often use and carried Kain back into the home that had been cleared of the heavy smoke.

Jean nodded and went to her car, wiping her tears. Tala put a hand on Kai's tense shoulder, unsure of what to say or do for either of them at that moment. The best option was to push him towards the house once everyone was gone, getting the two in the house and Tala's nose curled at the left over stench of smoke in the house.

"Go stay the night with him, he's going to need you."

Kai went to protest but didn't feel it in him to do so, Tala was right because he needed Ray too and had to check on his son.

"I'll see you in the morning." Kai kissed him hard before pulling away and going up the stairs, finding Ray in his room on the bed with Kain awake and crawling around beside him.

"Is he okay?" Kai asked as he came into the room, shutting the door behind him. He hadn't knocked, but he didn't think Ray cared at this point.

"He's fine." Ray sighed, brushing back Kain's bangs as Kai joined them on the bed. Boxing Kain between them.

"What about you?" Kai asked, letting Kain grab at his jacket and pulling on it.

"I have never been so scared in my life." Ray answered in a low whisper, "I don't know what I would do if I lost another one…"

Kai gave him a look of sympathy, even two years later and he still carried that burden. It wasn't his fault, but no matter how many times he or Tala tried to reassure him Ray never listened.

"I know…" Was all he could give him, reaching around Kain as he had curled against Kai's chest and fell asleep, brushing his fingers through Ray's bangs and pulling them away from his face gently.

"But he's safe, you didn't lose him."

Ray nodded, quickly wiping the tears before they had a chance to fall. "Stay with us tonight?" He asked, looking up and meeting Kai's eyes almost pleadingly.

"Of course."

Ray grabbed the playpen from the closet in the nursery, setting it up beside his bed and laying Kain in it as Kai got undressed and was under the sheets before Ray slid in next to him. Ray facing Kain asleep in his playpen, Kai holding him from behind as both lay wide awake.

Tala had gone out to the car and pulled it into the driveway, cutting the engine and locking the house up before he retired to his own room. Just as he was dozing off there was a scent in the air, mixed with the still overpowering stench of smoke, but it was familiar.

He jumped from his bed, throwing the covers off him as he dashed down the stairs and outback where he could hear the sound of wings beating in the air. The scent getting lost with the wind and smell of the grass and trees, unable to see where it went off to but felt his skin prick all the same.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hot off the press! So please excuse any mistakes.  
Thank you all for the support, and the love for this already. I know it's already filled with so many twists and turns and I'm loving all your reviews and thoughts to this.  
****Hopefully this chapter clears up a few more questions that ya'll might be having, if not I promise everything will be revealed at some point. **

**Either way, enjoy and I'll see ya'll whenever I get hit in the face with some inspiration again.**

* * *

Ray's brows furrowed as his over sensitive hearing was hit by the loud cries from his son in the playpen beside the bed, feeling Kai's hold over his waist get tighter as he too was being roused from sleep. Though neither wanted to get up to stop it, both having a sleepless night after what had happened.

Kain continued to wail, sitting on his chubby knees as he cried at his fathers above him on the bed. There were no tears, yet, as his small closed fists hit the netting to the playpen.

"Kai…" Ray groaned, not wanting to be the one to get up so early. It wasn't often that he could pawn their child off on Kai since he was always gone, using the situation to his advantage while he had the chance.

Kai mumbled something back into his hair, his brain coming out of sleep mode as the crying got louder. Ray nudged him in the stomach to get him moving, his ears ringing.

"Your son's awake, Kai." Ray tried again.

"He's your son too." Kai grumbled angrily as he pulled away from Ray's back, sending a small glare at Kain over Ray's shoulder as the crying stopped instantly. Getting a wide smile as he saw his fathers awake face staring back at him, the crying being replaced by small coos and an excited bounce.

"He needs a bottle and cereal." Ray reminded as he felt Kai's weight leave the bed, rolling over into the warmth left behind just to get a few more minutes of shut eye.

Kai nodded as he ran a hand through the back of his bedhead, going to the playpen and plucking Kain out into his arms. Sending another glare at the back of Ray's head, though knew Ray needed the sleep more than he did at the moment.

"Couldn't wait an hour or two more?" He asked their son as he carried him out of Ray's room to the nursery to change him, shutting Ray's door for him as he went.

It wasn't often that he got to do this, sometimes he missed it and knew that in the blink of an eye Kain was going to be older and not need them as much as he did now.

After wrestling his son into a clean diaper he carried him downstairs, placing him in the highchair in the dinning room and rooted through the cabinets for the formula and cereal. He was still waking up, feeling tired again now that he was standing for a minute at the counter. As he tried to prepare the bottle he spilled the formula into the bowl instead of the bottle, where the cereal was supposed to go.

"Shit…" He cursed, finally catching his mistake as he went to dump another scoop of the formula into the bowl after the next one.

Finally he got it right, pouring the powder into the bottle and worked through what Ray had shown him to do when making the goo that was baby cereal. He grabbed a chair, putting himself in front of Kain and held out the spoon with the white goo for him. The stuff smelled weird, but his son ate it like it was something high-end and the best thing on the planet.

Halfway through the feeding, Kain's lips wrapped the spoon as he bit into it and refused to let go, and he blew. Pieces of the goo flew out, some of it hitting Kai in the face as he scowled.

"Why would you do that?" He sighed, hearing a laugh behind him and turned over his shoulder to see Ray rummaging in the fridge.

It was about time he got food spat on him.

"Oh, now you want to get up." He directed at Ray's back before realizing he was dressed in black jeans and a red button down shirt, looking like he was fixing to leave the house with his hair braided behind him in a red binding.

"Where are you going?"

"I have some errands I need to run, you said you two have off for a while so I'm gonna leave Kain here with you and Tala." Ray answered as he grabbed the eggs from the fridge, placing the carton on the counter as he ducked back into it for the milk.

Kai arched a brow; Ray looked a little too dressed up just for some errands. "You don't want us to come with you?" He asked, after all the times they had to leave him behind and knew it bothered Ray he was trying to make up for that lost time.

"I'd be quicker without having to drag Kain around." Ray answered as casually as he could, prepping the eggs for them as he could hear Tala waking up upstairs now.

"Plus, isn't today when." He gestured vaguely at the roof.

Kai's brow reached higher until his sleep riddled brain realized what Ray was talking about, giving him a quiet nod as he turned back to their son to finish feeding him. Only to get the next spoonful spat out again, getting more on his face and in his hair.

"Why does he do that?"

Ray bit back a laugh, "Because he thinks it's funny." He said with an amused tone, kicking up the stove and glanced at the blackened stain above it from the night before.

It didn't look too bad, nothing a good scrubbing couldn't get out and was just thankful that was all that happened. Though, thinking back on Brooklyn's warning, he wondered if maybe Brooklyn had seen it right or if they had stopped it in time. His body shuddered; it wasn't often Brooklyn was wrong when it came to his visions but recently he had been. Ray could only hope that they had put a stop to what he had seen, but he'd have the chance to talk to him once he got to work.

His nose curled as the smell of eggs cooking hit, making his stomach violently churn. He swallowed the thicker saliva that accumulated in his mouth, feeling himself sweat. That wasn't a good sign, not when he was planning on going back out into the field soon.

Tala coming into the kitchen pulled him from his thoughts, getting a quick peck on the side of the head as the wolf went around getting the coffee maker kicked up on the other end of the line of counters. Kai was still trying to hopelessly feed his son, getting another spoonful of goo spat in his face.

"Alright, you're done." Kai huffed, giving Kain the spoon to gnaw on as he got up to clean the goo off his face.

Tala greeted him once he was in the kitchen with him, making Kai bend back to kiss him quickly as he washed out the bowl and then his face as Tala trotted around the kitchen for a minute before he went to the table to wait for his breakfast.

The smell of the smoke had all but left the house, though he figured opening the windows for a few hours would help get it out better. Making a mental note to do that, while also biting his tongue about what he had smelled in the middle of the night before he went to bed.

He hadn't slept well, just like the other two, and could see it in the way they moved and their posture. Tala hadn't slept as he was busy doing some extra work, sat up on his bed until almost four in the morning, only getting up because he had heard the other two in the kitchen.

The three were quiet, more quiet than they normally would if it was any normal day but given the situations from the night before, to their own secret lives they kept hidden from the other, the silence was more than welcomed. The only sound came from Kain, babbling with his spoon in his mouth as he gnawed on it and piercing it with the tiny fang that was pushing through his gum line.

With a few more minutes of silence Ray was plating the food, just going with eggs and toast for the three of them. Joining the other two at the table, passing out their plates as he sat down and stared at his own. His stomach twisting in knots again. That definitely wasn't good...

"You okay Kit?" Tala asked, glancing up at his face as the color seemed to drain from it suddenly.

Ray nodded, deciding on nibbling on the toast instead of trying to stomach the eggs he had made. Feeling slightly disappointed, they were perfect and he couldn't eat them.

"What time was Bryan and Spencer coming over?" He directed at Tala; he couldn't tell them until he had confirmation though.

Tala's bright eyes dulled a little, picking around the eggs on his plate now. "Should be around noon." He answered in a small, saddened, voice.

Ray nodded a little as he frowned, feeling for him with a look of sympathy. "Just be careful."

Tala quirked a red brow, finally taking in Ray's attire. Clearly he was going out as well. "You too."

Ray gave him a small appreciative smile as the turning in his stomach got worse. There was a tremendous guilt that stabbed him in the heart and gut, knowing that if it wasn't for him Tala wouldn't need to be going out with Bryan and Spencer to begin with. It was his fault, Dickenson's fault, even if he didn't know it at the time. He was just doing his job, and that in turn made it to where Kai and Tala didn't know why Ian was buried ten feet in the ground.

Quietly Ray gathered his plate up, taking it to the kitchen to dump the eggs before coming back and kissing each of the other boys at the table on the head as his goodbye. Kai and Tala watched him leave out the side door to the garage, turning back to each other with looks of concern.

He seemed off, more so than normal they thought and like they could read what the other was thinking they frowned a little.

"He looks sick." Tala started.

Kai nodded as his stomach twisted and he stared, hard, at Tala in the eyes. "You didn't."

Tala arched a brow before a wiry grin spread along his face, "You were gone for a month." He shrugged his shoulders, his eyes beaming. "Do you think he knows?"

Kai's own face paled, just in time as his son threw the spoon onto the floor. They didn't need another one, as much as he knew Tala wanted one, now wasn't the time.

"And you didn't think to wrap the damn thing?!"

Even with the yelling Tala's face still held its excitement, "Oh look whose talking." He gestured at Kain behind Kai's shoulder.

Kai swallowed his next comeback, he got him there. "Still, now isn't the damn time." He growled out low.

"Not much I can do about it now, plus he didn't say anything so that might not even be it." Tala said, though deep down he hoped it was. This time, if it was, it would be his; no questions asked.

"For your sake, and his, let's hope it's not." Kai scorned as he pushed himself roughly from the table, grabbing his son to put him down with the bottle he had made earlier in the nursery so he could shower.

Tala frowned as he watched him go, wondering what the hell that was all about. He left him alone for a minute, listening to Kai upstairs fussing with Kain before he was in his room. Leaving their plates on the table he pushed himself away, going after him now that he had given him a few minutes to cool down.

At Kai's door he just walked in, breaking their only rule without a care, as he could hear the shower running in the bathroom. He pushed the door open, getting hit with the steam instantly and made himself comfortable on the counter beside the glass shower to the right of the door.

"Why are you so upset about this?" Tala huffed out, crossing his right leg over his left knee as he played with one of Kai's cologne bottles in his hands.

Kai let out a sigh, his back turned on him but had known he was there all along. Knowing that Tala was going to come in and continue the conversation, even if he wanted it to just drop.

"I know this is something you wanted; I do… But what if something happens to you?" He asked in a more calm tone, with a sadness mixed within it.

"I could ask you the same thing." Tala countered back with his own soft tone. He knew what the risks were, what they were gambling with and the ultimate price of leaving Ray with a child alone if something happened to either or both of them.

"I know it's not ideal, definitely wasn't planned if it does come down to it. But this is why I said we should just quit."

Kai considered it, again, like he always did when it came to the topic of his family and what he could be leaving behind. "Not until this is done, otherwise what was the point anyways? We're doing this for him, for the rest of the goddam world here. You really want those things to keep coming up, or spread further out?"

"Of course I don't… And you're right, but maybe we're going about it the wrong way here." Tala said, pausing for a second as a thought hit him.

"Did he say anything to you, when you went and saw him the other day?"

Kai shook his head, cutting the water off before stepping out and drying himself off.

"He didn't say anything." He answered, wrapping the towel around his trim, scarred, hips. "The one time I want him to open his big mouth he keeps it shut."

Tala smirked a little, "Maybe if you asked nicer."

Kai shot him a glare as he walked past him, back to his room to change. "After his face broke my hand the first time that's all I've done." He grumbled again.

"Then give up, he's not going to answer anything and honestly. I don't think he knows enough to actually tell you anything useful."

"Then why the hell did we keep him?" Kai shot back, feeling his anger flare with the accumulation of topics that kept hitting him one after the other.

"Because Roman wanted him, and you know his answer to that was 'it's above your pay grade'." Tala mocked, jumping down from the counter and going after him.

"I've been wondering something." Tala said as he belly flopped down onto Kai's bed, watching him get dressed at the dresser at the end of the room.

"You should probably stop thinking so much, before you fry that chip in your brain." Kai mumbled.

"Stop being an ass for a second, I'm trying to talk to you here." Tala frowned, his brows knitting together as he propped his chin in his hand.

Kai went quiet, to stop being an 'ass' he figured he'd just keep his mouth shut.

"Somethings haven't been adding up, they haven't been since this whole damn thing started two years ago, but why would the government want that experiment from Voltaire and Boris to begin with?"

Kai's skin pricked as he fought the shudder from running down his back, he had questioned that to himself countless times.

It had started with them, back in the Abbey before he ever met the others, then BEGA became the next forefront for the experiments. The only one they knew to have been merged out of BEGA was Brooklyn, and now he was their prime target. How Dickenson became roped into it all was still a mystery, Kai never pegged the old man as the world dominating kind, yet he had gotten his own hands in the dirty waters with his grandfather and Boris and had created more Fusions.

"I don't think it's the same one." Kai finally answered as he fitted a shirt over his head. "After BEGA went down we made sure to erase any of the files pertaining to the damn thing, this is Dickenson and the BBA's work."

"That's what we've been told, but really? Dickenson? Why would he?" Tala questioned as he sat up, crossing his legs in the center of Kai's bed.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be chasing my own tail here." Kai said with an unamused tone, giving Tala a dry look. "And if Tyson would just answer my damn questions we could be done with this a lot sooner." He added, more to himself than Tala even though the redhead nodded in agreement.

"There's too many plot holes to this, even still. So say it was Dickenson recreating the experiment, for whatever reason, why would he give it to the government?"

"I don't think he did." Kai answered, getting another quirked brow from Tala. "Either they caught onto it and took it, or someone gave it to them. Now, in retaliation Dickenson is creating the Savages to get back. Pin it on the government, while we scramble around cleaning up both of their damn messes."

"You've been thinking too much about this." Was all Tala could think of to say, his wry grin coming back. "How long have you kept that logged away?"

"For a while now, after the Orlando Incident." Kai answered, fully dressed now but not feeling anymore awake or better.

"Should I be glad I don't remember that or not?"

Kai gave him a soft look, he hated that he could remember it perfectly well where Tala couldn't. That was his fault, he had almost lost him that night because he was careless. At least the only reminder of that night was the small burn mark on Tala's back, near his hips, where he came out unscathed through most of it.

"Be glad you don't." Kai settled on saying to him, not sparing another word or look back as he went to collect Kain from the nursery.

"I do remember one thing." Tala said as he followed after him again, like a puppy following it's mother. "There was a smell, aside from the fire, at the time I didn't know what it was but the longer I think about it it's bothering me."

"Smell?" Kai questioned as he stopped short of Kain's door, giving Tala a look over his shoulder.

Tala nodded as he worried his bottom lip for a minute, "I know it sounds crazy, stupid even, and it doesn't help any that I can't remember anything else but this… But… It smelt like Ray had been there."

"You know he was in his Village that night." Kai said, not really wanting to push down what Tala was saying but it wasn't even possible.

"Well yeah I know that, but I swear that's the only thing that's stuck out to me since it happened. And it wouldn't be possible for him to be in China then the states and then back here that quickly."

"There's that too." Kai said, not sure what else to say. "Maybe that chip in your head is fried already." He smirked, getting smacked in the arm for his comment.

"I really hope that boy of yours turns out more like Ray than you, one of you is enough as it is." Tala said as he puffed his cheeks out in annoyance.

Kai's smirk grew, "Can say the same about what ever comes from you." He said as he eyed him for a second and pushed his way into the nursery.

Tala rolled his eyes as he went towards the stairs, letting Kai follow him back down this time. He still had a few hours before the other two showed up for their yearly get together, it was always hard to go and see Ian after what happened to him, but just like the rest of his life for the past two years he never understood why it was him that had been buried in the ground.

He was like Kai and himself, having been one of Boris's first experiments in the Abbey and as far as he knew Ian hadn't had the potential to go Savage. Though when they got the call that he had been found, shot dead, in the streets three years ago it hadn't even been brought up and just pushed under the rug as a hit and run. He and the other two had arranged his funeral, like them Ian didn't have a family, and this had become their routine since that day.

"I smelled something last night too." Tala said as he heard Kai coming down the stairs, already sat up on the leather L-shaped couch in the living room.

"When?" Kai asked as he sat Kain down on the floor, going to the chest of toys pushed up against the window and brought a few back as he sat down with him.

"After you two went to bed, sometime around midnight. I'm not sure what it was, or who it was, but when I got outside it was gone… Smelled like you…"

Kai looked up at him, "Me?" He questioned.

Tala nodded, "Maybe the smoke messed up my senses or something." Tala waved off.

Kai could only nod, letting Kain grab at his hand and put his index finger into his mouth before he bit down hard into his father's flesh. Kai flinched a little, that damn fang piercing his skin and could feel the skin break.

"Damn Neko-Jin…" Kai grumbled as he wiggled his finger free from his son's hold, staring at the mark in his skin with a bit of blood seeping out until the wound started to slowly heal itself instantly.

"Ouch." Tala chuckled with a smirk, "Least Ray will be happy to see he's got those."

"Not if he bites him like that." Kai answered, slightly feeling bad for the daycare worker the next time Kain had to go.

Tala went to say something back when his ears perked at a car pulling into the drive, "They're early." He said as he checked his watch, bouncing up from the couch to answer the door before the other two even reached it.

It didn't take long before Bryan and Spencer wandered into the house, greeting their longtime friends as they made themselves comfortable in the living room with them. At the newcomers in the home Kain crawled over to Bryan, getting picked up and put on his lap.

"Don't let him bite you." Kai warned, knowing Ray would have a shit-fit if he saw Bryan holding him.

Ray still had issues around Bryan, then again nobody could blame him. Bryan was the reason he had almost died, only because he had been ordered to do so, but that wasn't enough to stop Ray from disliking him even seven years later. If the two were around each other Ray barely talked to him or stayed in the room if they happened to be left alone. Bryan had tried, nobody could say he hadn't tried to make amends, but he eventually he gave up.

"Have you two found anything?" Kai asked as he shifted around to face the others on the couch, keeping his legs crossed on the floor.

Tala arched a brow, quickly looking between Kai and the other two.

"Not much, but we may have a small lead." Spencer began, sitting next to Bryan on the end of the couch. "It seems you may have a rat somewhere."

Kai smirked a little, he had a feeling there was and that's why he asked for their help three months ago. Unlike he and Tala, Bryan wasn't fused but Spencer was; though he had retired after the Orlando Incident. Which meant Kai could use them both for extra intel, and he put that to good use often and sometimes behind Tala's back.

"We're not sure who, but there's a middle person. How high up they are on the ladder is also an issue but based on the accounts we've been watching; we can assume they're pretty high up there." Spencer continued, "I still recommend that you two stay off their books, in case the BBA has access to their database."

Kai nodded, that was exactly why he and Tala refused to be put in there. Nobody knew who, or what, they did. If the BBA could somehow get into the system they'd be found out, and that was the last thing they needed.

"Do you think it's someone from the BBA?" Kai asked in a darker tone.

"We don't think so, not by the looks of it right now. They could be though, so watch your backs."

"Do you have a name?" Tala asked, feeling left out of the conversation.

"Not yet, the second we do you'll know." Bryan answered him, sitting closest to his old captain.

"How long have you two been doing this for him?" Tala asked, giving Kai a small heated stare for a second. He didn't like being in the dark, especially when it came to work related things.

"Since I asked them." Kai answered, knowing it would piss him off.

Tala rolled his eyes, apparently Kai was in one of his moods and decided to ignore him. Looking back at Bryan and Spencer expectantly for a better answer than what Kai had given him.

"Since the Orlando Incident." Spencer finally answered him after a few minutes of silence, not liking the way Tala had been trying to burn a hole into the side of his head past Bryan's.

Tala frowned, once more that night coming back up that he couldn't remember well enough and being left in the dark again. Kai refused to talk about it, Spencer never brought it up and Bryan wasn't there.

"What happened that night?" He didn't care if it bothered Kai, he was tired of being left in the dark.

"Tala." Kai warned, though he could see the cogs turning in Tala's head and knowing he wasn't going to back down.

"A lot happened that night." Spencer answered in a grave tone, "We almost lost you that night."

"I know, that's the only damn thing I know about that night. What else, besides _that_, can you tell me?" Tala bit.

Spencer glanced at Kai, there was a reason he didn't talk about it and after getting that famous glare from him he swallowed hard and shook his head. It wasn't worth the risk of making Kai angry with him.

"Fine. Leave me out of it, apparently that's not the only thing you don't want me to know." Tala fired at Kai, his short fuse getting shorter.

Kai ignored him, not missing the other two glancing at him in a silent hope that he'd finally tell him but with his lips sealed tight they knew it wasn't going to happen. At least not right then and there.

"We should head out now." Bryan decided to break the tension that was forming over their heads, setting Kain back down on the floor where he crawled back over to his fathers lap.

"Tell him I said hello." Kai said, pulling Kain up into his chest as he stood himself up to go feed him lunch.

"Will do, you take it easy for a while." Spencer said as he got up from the end of the couch, the other two following after him.

"You know about that?" Kai arched a brow as he shifted Kain on his hip.

"Of course we do, got yourselves benched for a week." Bryan snickered, "So glad I don't have to deal with that bullshit."

"You wouldn't have survived the process, so yeah. Be glad." Tala rolled his eyes, though there was a small bubble of jealousy in his stomach.

He wished he had been spared back in the Abbey, like Bryan had been, but he understood why the scientists had refused to merge him, he was too unstable. The risk of Bryan going Savage was too great, in a way he was useless to them until Boris could use him for the world tournament that landed Ray in the hospital. After the defeat Boris had near enough killed him, until the BBA came and rescued them all from the Abbey once the tournament was done. Though no one spoke a word of to Dickenson to what had really gone on down there, it was just by chance that Dickenson had found the Fusion Project at all.

"See you around Kai." Spencer waved as he led the other two out to the foyer, getting a nod from Kai.

Tala glanced at him, if he thought he was getting a kiss goodbye he was sorely mistaking. Kai saw the look and frowned as Tala walked on after the two without so much as a 'goodbye' as he left, the front door shutting hard behind him.

Kai quietly scoffed, knowing by the time Tala came back he'd be forgiven and possibly be in his bed drunk off his ass. Either way Kai really didn't care, this was normal for him.

"C'mon, looks like it's you and me." He directed at his son who had grabbed fistfuls of his hair, sucking on his thumb with the other as his big crimson eyes stayed on his father's face.

* * *

An hour later he had Kain fed and put down for a nap with a bottle, leaving him in the nursery as he went to his study to fill out paperwork for his actual enterprise. Using the time he had being benched to actually do something, groaning inwardly at the messed up charts and documents that he had left in his employee's incapable hands.

Half way through his third file he paused, it was a deal that he needed to close with another sister company in the states based in Orlando. Once more that name, that night, came flooding back and sending a cold chill to run down his back.

Closing the document he went to the web browser, quickly typing in his inquiry into the search bar where pictures and news articles popped up about the attack. Of course the United States government played it off like his own did, claiming it was a terrorist attack that took the lives of one hundred plus people. The damage had nearly took out three blocks, last he knew the city was still trying to rebuild most of it from the ashes.

Thinking back on it, as he scrolled through the news articles and pictures, he remembered that when Ray came back the next day from his Village was when he told them about being pregnant with Kain. Then there were the burns on his hands that he played off as having grabbed a hot pan.

Kai's stomach twisted; what Tala had said an hour ago coming to mind but he shook it off. There was no way Ray could have been there, would have been there. He wasn't one of them, Kai had no reason to believe that Ray would even agree to such a process if Dickenson had even approached him about it. There were no signs to even suggest that Ray was fused with Driger, what he had naturally was because of his Neko-Jin blood.

As the door to his study opened he quickly shut down the browser, just as Ray stepped into the room with him. Kai cursed a little, living with two people who could hear his every move and know where he was at every second was annoying and then he was a bit envious that he didn't have that ability.

"Hey, you doing okay?" Ray asked as he came in, seeing Kai's back tense slightly.

Kai nodded, pulling back up his work files as Ray came around behind his chair. Already getting to work on his shoulders and relaxing into Ray's hands as the tension was being released.

"Get done what you needed?" Kai asked, forgetting about the work file in front of him again.

"For the most part." Ray answered with a frown on his face that Kai couldn't see, "Sorry for running off on you like that."

"It's alright." Kai shrugged it off, it wasn't like Ray had to apologize for that when he and Tala made an art of running off all the time on him.

"You should take a break from this, while you have the time off." Ray said as his eyes went to the computer screen in front of him.

Kai shrugged again; it wasn't this that he needed to take a break from as it was more the other he was getting fed up with.

As Ray's hands worked against his shoulders some more the same thoughts flitted through Kai's head, once more the burn marks on Ray's hands coming to mind with what Tala had said to him. Quietly he reached up, taking Ray's left hand in his and gently pulled him around to the front of his desk so he could look at him. Gauge his response as the feeling in his gut intensified, praying that he was wrong to even think such a thing.

Ray gave him a questioning look, though sat himself up on the corner of Kai's desk quietly. Kai let go of his hand, putting his on Ray's knee as he went over what he wanted to say without risking his own secret to spill out between them.

With an inhale he steeled his nerves, meeting Ray's eyes. "You remember when you told us you were pregnant with Kain?"

Ray cocked a brow, of all the things he had in his head of what Kai wanted to say that was not even on the list. He nodded all the same though, he remembered that day very well. He was a nervous wreck, had just come back from that massacre to find out he had risked his child's life by being there without even knowing it.

"You had burn marks on your hands." Kai said, picking up Ray's hand again and flipped it over. Revealing the palm of his hand and the faded marks he was talking about, over the past eighteen months they weren't as noticeable anymore, a lot like Tala's own burn on his back.

"What happened?" Kai asked as he ran his thumb gently over the mark, glancing away from it and back to meet Ray's eyes.

"I told you, grabbed a hot pan without thinking because I just found out I was pregnant with Kain." Ray answered quickly, his brow reaching higher as his own questions started to flicker through his head.

Kai nodded as he considered his answer, knowing it was the exact same one he had been given that day eighteen months ago. The niggling feeling in his gut still twisting something violently, even if he had no real reason not to believe him.

"When was the last time you went to the village?" He asked, wanting to avoid the issue raging in his head.

Ray went quiet for a minute, something about that sudden question stinging him in the heart even if he didn't show it.

"What's that have to do with anything?" He asked, hiding the bite behind his words.

The feeling like something going wrong between them suddenly hitting him hard where he didn't want it to. This wasn't what he had been expecting, and was left wondering where this was all coming from.

"It really doesn't." Kai shrugged a little, pulling his hand away from Ray's hand and lacing his fingers together over his lap. "But I figured it's been a while since you've been there, thought maybe you'd want to take Kain and go." He answered as the possibility of Ray being pregnant again came to mind. If Ray left he'd be safe, protect not only himself and Kain but Tala's unborn child too.

"Is that what you want?" Ray asked accusingly, narrowing his eyes at the father of his child as the sting in his heart pierced harder. "If you want me gone just say so." He bit out before he could stop it.

Kai's eyes widened at the tone and the accusation Ray had of his reasoning for asking. In a way he didn't blame him, he and Tala were gone a lot and knew that Ray was jealous over it.

He knew, he couldn't deny it, that he felt something different between them right now though. What it was he wasn't sure; he didn't like it any more than Ray did though and didn't want to lose him anymore than Ray did either. He was just trying to protect his family, like he always did.

"That's not what I'm saying." Kai quickly said, hoping to keep things calm between them. The last thing they needed was an argument. "You know things are getting worse, your village is untouched. You and Kain would be safe there until it's safe to come home."

Ray rolled his eyes, gripping the edge of Kai's desk harder and chipping the wood underneath with his nails.

"And what, you want me to leave you and Tala to deal with it all? What if your building is attacked next, or the country is thrown into a war here? You can't ask me to leave the two of you." Ray argued back, trying to work past the sting in his heart and the thousands of questions rushing in his head.

"I doubt we'll go to war, and so far my building has been fine and I'm not that concerned with either. My concern is for you and our son." Kai argued back, reeling in his voice before it got to a point he couldn't stop it and cutting off the thought of Ray being with child again.

"If we're not going to war then why do we have to leave?" Ray asked with another roll of his eyes.

If it wasn't for Kai trying to push him out the door, he'd have been relieved to know that he and Kain were on Kai's mind and that he wanted them safe. Yet, that was exactly what he was trying to do himself. Make sure that they were all safe.

He played it off, the 'terrorist attacks' he saw on the news and heard Kai and Tala talking about were nothing but lies. Their country wasn't going to go to war because there was no one to go to war with at the moment. Aside from the Savaged Fusions their little speck on the world was doing fine, and he intended to keep it that way and get rid of the issue once and for all.

"Because you never know what could happen, at least there I'll know you two are safe." Kai argued; his voice once more teetering on rising higher in his agitation.

He could blame it on being tired, blame it on one hundred things but really he hated it when Ray became just as stubborn as he and Tala were.

"I'm not leaving, Kain isn't leaving. We're staying right here and I'm not sorry if that bothers you." Ray said, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Kai a look that dared him to keep this up.

There was a small fire in Kai's eyes that ignited, knowing Ray was pushing the right buttons that he jumped out of his chair and paced the side of his desk away from him.

"So you'd rather risk our son's life by staying here? When I'm telling you it's not safe anymore?!" He yelled as he paced.

"You know that's not it at all, how dare you try and use him against me like that!" Ray shot out at him, holding his pupils back from slitting as the anger in his gut bubbled.

"You know me better than that. If it's that dangerous out there then you and Tala should come with us, not ask me to run off and leave the two of you!"

Kai bit his tongue before he let the truth pour out of him. He wanted to tell him what he and Tala were up against, finally come clean after three years of hiding it but stopped himself. It would only make Ray want to stay that much more, knowing that they were risking their lives daily to keep him and the rest of the world safe.

"I'm not asking you to run away, I'm asking you to do this for the sake of our son! If something happened to him..." Kai trailed off, he never wanted to think about that.

"Nothing is going to happen to him. I know what happened last night is still hard to think about, believe me, I'm still shaken up about it too. But I can promise you, nothing is going to happen to him or me." Ray said, lowering his tone as he really didn't want to be fighting with Kai about this either. Hoping that if he reeled in his voice Kai would do the same.

"You can't promise that, not here! Not when there's people dying left and right almost every goddamn day Ray! Your village is the safest place right now, why don't you get that?" Kai asked, his voice not coming back down as he continued to yell and the fire in his eyes growing in strength.

"I'm not leaving you two here alone! That's final!" Ray yelled, jumping himself off the desk and stepping into the path Kai had been pacing and cutting him off where they stood toe-to-toe.

"Enough of this, I don't understand what it is I've done wrong here but I'm not leaving. Unless you really just want me gone for good!"

"Of course I don't!" Kai bellowed out; his voice louder than it ever had been before. "I just want you safe and you being here you're not! Why can't you do this for me?!" He asked as he put his hands on Ray's shoulders, almost to the point of begging him now.

"Because I can't leave you!" Ray yelled, his golden eyes filling up with tears almost instantly.

"Why?!" Kai slightly shook him; it wasn't enough to hurt or harm him but more to grab his attention and Ray shoved his hands away with the back of his arms effortlessly.

"I'm pregnant!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Guess what? I got smacked in the face again, so here you go! Hot off the press again, I don't really care how fast or slow this thing gets updated as long as I can just get it out of my head to make way for the more important ones.  
Anywho, thank you guys I love you all so much for the continued support to this one. No warnings for this, we're still in the more tame waters as it were... For now...**

* * *

**3 Hours Earlier:**

With a deep inhale Ray sat as stiff as he could as the doctor edged the needle closer to his skin, finally pressing the tip and piercing through the flesh before the red liquid slipped through the thin tubing and into the vial. Ray released his breath past the sting, his heart racing frantically in his chest as the doctor took another vial of blood before pulling the needle out and dressing the small puncture wound in the crease of his arm.

"Give me about an hour and you'll have the results." The doctor said in a small voice as Ray pulled the sleeve of his shirt to cover the dressing on his arm.

"Thanks." Was all Ray gave him, jumping off the chair he had been sitting on in the small room as Brooklyn stood up from the chair by the door.

Ray ignored the concerned look Brooklyn was giving him, walking out of the room quickly but not enough to leave Brooklyn behind or panting to keep up with him.

"It's going to be okay." Brooklyn spoke once they were out in the main hall, heading Ray's office.

"I don't see how…" Ray muttered under his breath; eyes forward as he led them up a small set of stairs to where his office sat. "I was supposed to be going back out there with you."

"We talked about this." Brooklyn sighed, stepping through the opened door that Ray held for him once they reached his office.

"I know we talked about this, but I'm done talking about it!" Ray snapped as the door closed behind them.

In a green blur he was sat at his desk in the blink of an eye, leaving Brooklyn by the door and smirking a little as he casually stepped into the room more and took up the seat in front of Ray's desk.

"You need to be careful doing that now." Brooklyn warned, though there was a fondness to his tone.

"I was just seeing if I still could…" Ray breathed back, flipping open the folders that were left on his desk for him when he had gotten into work.

"I need to ask you something." Ray said without looking up at him, a silence had passed over them for a while as his eyes raked through the progress reports on the reversal serum Max and Kenny were working on.

"Ask away." Brooklyn smirked again as he leaned back into his chair.

Ray looked up at him away from the folder before he pulled a hand over the top of his desk, holding it out across for Brooklyn. Teal eyes went wide and Brooklyn's smirk fell quickly, pulling his arms around himself.

"You don't want me to do that."

"I need to know what you saw, maybe I can see something you missed." Ray sounded like he was begging almost, his tired golden eyes boring into Brooklyn's teal ones.

"Please." He _was_ begging now, the terrible feeling in his gut that he hadn't stopped Brooklyn's vision from the night before hitting him hard. He needed to know, felt it down to his soul that something wasn't right but couldn't figure out what it was.

Brooklyn gave him a soft look, pulling himself away from the chair and stepped back from the desk and Ray's outstretched hand.

"You don't trust me?"

Ray's face fell as his hand recoiled back to his lap, "That's not it. I do trust you, out of everyone here I trust you the most."

"But you're worried."

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" Ray's voice broke slightly, he really was at the end of his rope at this point. "I just need to know… Need to know that I actually stopped something from happening to my son…"

Brooklyn's eyes softened more, "He's fine, he will be fine. I know that my visions have been foggy recently, but I promise he's fine."

Ray nodded though that terrible feeling still shook him to his core, wishing that he could just push it aside. His nerves were about at their breaking point as it were, those test results he had to wait an hour for were not helping any and Anette had yet to show up for work even though he had called her on his way over.

"You should tell them." Brooklyn's voice broke the small silence between them again, keeping his voice low and calm in hopes of keeping Ray calm.

Ray shook his head quickly, "I can't… They wouldn't understand, they'd hate me. Tala especially… I've taken so much from him already…" Ray choked out.

"You didn't know about Ian." Brooklyn offered in a sympathized tone and a heavy breath.

"But I knew about his child."

"Then don't make the same mistake twice with this one." Brooklyn cautioned, his tone getting slightly harder.

As Brooklyn's words had seeped into the air around them Ray's door opened, Anette peaking her head into the cracked door before she stepped in fully with a bright smile on her painted red lips. Something in her crimson eyes twinkling as she came to stand beside Brooklyn, who took a step back from her so they wouldn't accidentally touch.

"Did I hear that right?" She started, the twinkle in her eyes getting brighter.

Ray bit his lip; of all the times he didn't want her to step into his office of course she had to come in at just the right time. He nodded slowly before shrugging his shoulders. He could hope to chalk up the nauseas to his nerves, his improper sleep schedule but he had a sinking feeling it was more than that.

"I'll know in an hour." He tried to paint on a smile though it fell flat. He needed to get back out on the field beside Brooklyn, if the test came back positive there was no way they'd let him.

"I'm sure Kai will be thrilled either way." Anette said with a fondness in her tone.

"It's not his this time." Ray informed, missing the twinkle that had been in Anette's eyes die away like the snap of a finger.

"Oh." She shifted where she stood as her own smile fell quickly, "Well here are those reports from the attack on Highland." She moved forward, putting the folder down on top of his desk. Her eyes quickly taking in the other papers there about the reversal serum, her frown getting harder as she stepped back again.

"Any progress with that?" She asked, a small bite in her tone that both men missed.

"I haven't finished going through it yet." Ray sighed, shifting the folder she had placed on his desk to the side. "Thank you, for this." He tapped the folder he had pushed aside as he met her eyes for a second.

"Of course. Is there anything I can get you?" She painted on another smile.

"No, I'm good for now. See if you can keep digging on the Lap Dogs." He said almost mindlessly without looking at her again, focusing back on the papers Max had dropped off for him.

"Will do." With that she turned on her heels, leaving the two in the office with the door swinging closed behind her.

Ray finally breathed better; the room still filled with her stench of perfume that he had been fighting hard not to gag on while she had been in there.

"Anything you need from me?" Brooklyn asked once they were alone, watching Ray swallowing hard as a small bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face despite the AC being on.

"Just…" Ray stopped, half knowing it was pointless to ask him again to go back to his vision from the other night and shook his head.

"If you want to go over these with me?" Ray plucked up the folder Anette had given him, holding it out for Brooklyn to take.

Brooklyn took it, taking his seat back up at the table in the middle of the room with his back to Ray until he took up the other folder and sat with him. The two falling in silence as they went through the folders together, eyes raking through every word quietly. Trying to absorb as much information as they possibly could to pass the time until the hour mark hit and there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." Ray's head snapped up, calling to the person on the other side.

The door cracked open, the young receptionist from the medical ward stepping in with a small envelope clutched tightly in his hands as he carried it over and handed it to him.

"Thank you." Ray gave the young man a curt nod, setting it off to the side as the man nodded back and took his leave quickly.

Brooklyn glanced at Ray beside him and the envelope he had left sitting on the other side of his left arm that was laid across the table, with the right one holding his head up against the table. His fingers pressing hard into his temple, subtly massaging it as if he had a headache.

"Do you want me to?" Brooklyn asked and Ray shook his head.

"Just give me a minute." He said as he flipped through his sheets of papers, already getting through the third page and moving onto the fourth with three more to go.

Brooklyn nodded as his own eyes went to his file quietly, his neutral gaze turning slightly wide at the hazy black and white photos on the next page from the security footage that had been printed out.

"Here." He tapped the paper, drawing Ray's attention to him.

Ray looked down at the photo, his heart skipping a beat or two at the blurry figures the camera had caught a picture of. Two simple, tall- what he assumed were men- dressed in black clothes decked to the nines with weapons on their sides and backs were visible on the photo. Their backs were to the camera, their arms raised with their guns in hand and the blast flare from the barrel being captured in the picture. They wore hoods, there was no definite shape or contour to the hoods though that would give either an idea of how much hair was being hidden under them.

"This is a start…" Was all Ray could say, they had never gotten something this close on the Lap Dogs before. "At least we now know there are just two." He confirmed, his eyes not leaving the picture for a second.

"The report here says there were twenty casualties of pedestrians, we don't have the number for Savages though." Brooklyn said as he flipped through to the next page.

It was another blurry, blown up, picture of the beasts that had been laid to waist. Quickly his teal eyes danced through the photo, mentally counting how many there were with Ray doing the same. They had been told there were at least ten, but in the picture there were only five.

"As long as they cleaned up their own mess this time, with no loose ends." Ray huffed as he shifted back into his chair more and glanced at the white envelope he had been trying to avoid.

"Looks that way, in and out. As is their style."

Ray scoffed quietly beside him, flipping to the next page in his own folder and glanced back at the envelope. It was now or never, he reasoned, and picked it up. Fighting back from trembling too hard as he popped the flap open and pulled out the paper inside it. Brooklyn shifted back in his chair, turning his head to watch him with another soft look on his face as Ray's trembling became more noticeable and his golden eyes brimmed.

"I have to call Lee…" His voice cracked as he put the paper on the desk beside him, putting his forehead into the palms of both hands as his elbows rested over the top of the table.

Brooklyn's hand went to touch his back, to soothe him, but pulled back. He didn't need to risk seeing something at that moment and pull Ray into whatever it was and placed his hand back in his lap.

"Do you want me to call him instead?"

"No, I'll do it." Ray answered as he breathed in heavily, fighting back his trembling before he sat back into his chair fully and pulled his bangs from his face.

"This is fucking perfect…"

* * *

**Present Time:**

"Of course I don't!" Kai bellowed out; his voice louder than it ever had been before. "I just want you safe and you being here you're not! Why can't you do this for me?!" He asked as he put his hands on Ray's shoulders, almost to the point of begging him now.

"Because I can't leave you!" Ray yelled, his golden eyes filling up with tears almost instantly.

"Why?!" Kai slightly shook him; it wasn't enough to hurt or harm him but more to grab his attention and Ray shoved his hands away with the back of his arms effortlessly.

"I'm pregnant!" Ray cried back, his tears already threatening to spill as his words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Kai froze up, every muscle in his body clenched. He had a feeling, hell Tala did too, but there was a bit of hope that he had been holding onto that they were wrong. That Ray wasn't with child again, just because he couldn't stomach the idea right now. Not with the way things kept going to shit, and this it seemed, was just the icing on the cake.

"Then all the more reason you should go." Kai said as he stepped back, his voice going hard as did his face.

"I can't leave you… Don't ask me to leave when I need you two." Ray argued back, his body shaking with the pent up and overflowing emotions raging through him.

If he could he'd tell Kai the truth, lay it out for him about everything but he could only handle so much truth in one day. Lee had been called, he was coming to help now but that still didn't settle his nerves and worry.

He had tried again to get Brooklyn to show him his vision before he left, being refused again to the point Brooklyn avoided him until he decided to come home early. There wasn't a point to being at the BBA when he felt useless to them, now that he was with child again there wasn't a point to him even being the Director now either.

He'd have been fine, giving away the position to someone else, but deep down he wanted to see this through. He had agreed to take up that mantle, lead them best he could but that in the end kept crumbling and slipping through his fingers like sand before he had a chance to grab hold.

"Fine… Do what you want Kon. Risk your life, Kain's life and this child's." Kai bit out angrily as he stepped back from him again, the fire in his eyes still raging fiercely.

Ray's bottom lip quivered, Kai had used his last name and he knew he was in trouble but what hurt more was the power behind his words that he was being foolish. He knew he was, he wouldn't deny that, but he still had a job to do. Once more feeling like he was being torn in half, unsure what to do all of a sudden.

The weight of losing his first hit him in the chest, on top of all Kai had said already to him and his tears rolled down his face harder at the implication in his words.

"Don't… Don't you do that to me…" His voice cracked out past his crying, though Kai's hardened face barely faltered. He couldn't say it wasn't his fault because he knew it was, Kai didn't know but that didn't help.

"I just want you SAFE!" Kai yelled back as a heat surged along his skin, "And maybe you should have fucking wrapped it up!_ Both_ of you, how stupid could you two be?!" His voice boomed out, finally slipping out what had been bothering him but unable to willingly admit it.

"We were!" Ray yelled back, his voice cracking higher. "You think I wanted another one this close in age to Kain?! How_ stupid_ do you think we are?"

Kai pulled his burning arms around himself tight, shifting where he stood as his brain was trying to work overtime for a comeback. Tala had made it seem that they didn't, knowing now that they had and it failed all his arguments got shoved down.

"I don't know what to tell you then…" Kai finally spoke up, the hardness in his face finally dying away.

"I still don't even understand why you want me gone." Ray shook his head, trying to wipe his tears as they fell. "I know it's not safe, and even without this one it's not like I'd want to just leave the two of you here."

There was a wall, slowly being built up, between them that neither wanted but were unable to stop it. Why it was there at all they didn't know, they had never had this happen before where they came to blows like this. Kai had never been this angry, not outspokenly at least, normally he'd avoid them if he needed a time to cool down. This was different though, completely new waters that Ray didn't know how to wade through.

He had always been able to handle him when Kai was his captain, but it was different now. They weren't teammates anymore; they were lovers with a child. He understood Kai's concerns, he had them too and more so than Kai could ever imagine.

Now wasn't the time to come clean but his mouth opened anyways, only to close it as Kain started to cry from upstairs. The loud wailing cutting through the tense air like a knife, it was a good distraction and a good way to keep his secret to himself though.

The wailing was loud enough Kai heard it, turning to go get him when Ray forced his legs to move before he could.

"I'll get him." He said as he passed him, not able to look back at him as he went and slammed the office door closed behind him.

The heat that had risen along Kai's skin died as the door slammed shut, running a shaking hand through his bangs that were slightly wet with sweat and thankful that Kain had started crying. The air in the room had only spiked slightly, not enough that it would spark Ray's suspicions but it certainly made Kai uneasy.

He didn't need to lose control like that, not again.

He sat back down at his desk, his stomach twisting violently the longer he sat there in his own mind. Going through everything he had said, knowing full well that he had crossed a line in blaming Ray for the loss of his first. He felt bile rise in his throat, how could he look him in the face again after that?

He grabbed his pack of smokes from his desk, ripping himself from his chair and storming outside to think. The cool air hit his still flushed skin, tasting the fire on his tongue as he popped a cigarette between his lips and blew. The end glowed red before a thin trail of smoke rose up, inhaling deeply to settle his nerves as he took a seat on the bench outside by the front door.

As he exhaled a plume of smoke a small silver car pulled up to the side of the road, dragging his attention from his thoughts and his blood ran cold as familiar crimson eyes met his through the passenger window.

He stayed still, wondering what she was doing there as she climbed out of her car. Her painted red lips upturning into a smile as she shut the door and made her way around the front of it, her heels clacking on the sidewalk and path that led to the front door where he was sitting.

"What're you doing here?" He asked in a low tone, his heart racing in his chest.

"I'm not here for you actually." Anette smiled at him before raising a brow at the cigarette between his fingers. "That's bad for the babies."

Kai's brow rose higher, thousands of questions rushing through his head with the sound of his blood in his ears.

"Is Ray home?" She cut him off as his mouth opened to speak.

"How the hell do you know him?" Kai asked, feeling the heat on his skin again as his crimson eyes narrowed into hers with a fire in them.

Anette rose a questioning brow, "What, you think I only ever waste my time in that hellhole? I know him from school, wanted to see how he's doing since he's been gone for two days."

Kai's gut twisted again; he didn't have a reason not to believe her when he had a separate life from the one they both lived. It was possible, Ray didn't often lie so why wouldn't he believe Anette?

"He's inside." Kai pushed himself up, snubbing out his barely finished cigarette and left it on the iron armrest of the bench he had been sitting on to go inside.

Anette stayed outside patiently to wait, her smile not once leaving her face as the door closed behind him.

Ray's door was closed when Kai reached the landing, his heart sunk to the pit of his stomach as he became frozen before it. Everything he said, implicated to Ray hitting him hard as he stood there. He knew he had put himself on the back burner with Tala, but with Ray he wasn't sure. He could very well have been put in the doghouse for an entire month after all he had said to him.

Although Tala and Ray were similar in a lot of ways, the one thing that separated them was how they dealt with his blow ups. Tala and him always reconciled before the night was done, where Ray held onto everything for days and sometimes weeks. He had never put up with his bullshit when they were on a team and that hadn't changed any, where Tala understood a bit better why he got the way he did.

This time though, there wasn't an excuse or reason good enough for what he had done.

Slowly he reached up and knocked on the wood of Ray's door, once more hearing his blood rushing in his ears as his heart slammed against his chest. He shifted where he stood uncomfortably, there was no answer on the other side. Behind him the nursery door was wide open, the room empty.

He tried again, this time knocking a bit harder as his breath caught in his throat. No response came again and he stepped in, he'd explain to him why he did after but he got cut short when the sound of Ray throwing up in the bathroom hit his ears through the cracked door to his right.

Kain sat up in his playpen, smiling wide at his other father where he stood frozen again inside the room as the sound of Ray retching came from the bathroom again.

He couldn't stop himself even if he had tried, going in there and quietly pulling back Ray's hair from his sweating face as he was knelt in front of the porcelain throne. Kai's stomach twisted again at the smell and the sight but being so used to things like that, there was no bile in his throat.

Ray's body clenched again, barely able to breathe as he hunched forward into the bowl again as his stomach forced up anything it could. He hated this part the most, with Kain it was nonstop and it didn't look like this one was going to give him any quarter either.

His eyes were blood shot, tears running down his face again as he sat back and tried to breathe. His body shaking as the sweat rolled down his face, the taste and the smell overpowering that he flushed the toilet to get it to go away. Though the smell lingered in the air, and he could still taste it in his mouth.

Kai bent down behind him, rubbing his back for him gently as he stayed on the floor shaking through the after effects feeling drained and unable to move.

"Someone's here to see you." Kai said in a small tone of voice, brushing back Ray's bangs again for him to get them to unstuck from his sweaty brow.

"Who?" Ray shook again as he spoke, his chest heaving and waiting for the next wave to hit.

"Said her name was Anette." Kai answered even though she hadn't told him her name because he already knew it, Ray didn't know that though and once more Kai was left to wonder if what she had said was even the truth to begin with.

Ray's heart clenched as he jerked upward onto his feet, going to the sink to wash his hands and face and rinse his mouth out with the bottle of mouthwash on the counter beside the toilet.

Kai stood back up with him staring at the two of them through their reflections in the mirror over the sink, taking in Ray's bloodshot eyes and the red spots that had speckled his skin.

"I can tell her to leave." Kai continued in that same small voice.

"It's fine." Ray answered once he had washed his mouth out at least three times, finally getting the taste of vomit out.

He barely spared Kai a glance back through the mirror as he stepped into his room, going around his bed and pulling Kain from the playpen and putting him up on his hip. Kai had followed, watching without a clue on what to say to him.

Ray was already out of the bedroom as Kai went to tell him he could leave Kain, only for his words to fall flat and only a noise had escaped his throat. Feeling broken he took himself to his room, pulling out his phone to call up Tala to get him home quicker.

Anette smiled as the front door opened and Ray stepped outside with her, crimson eyes met crimson and her smile widened as Ray closed the front door. His golden eyes narrowing, holding his pupils from slitting through the anger he felt raging inside him.

"The hell do you think you're doing here?!" He snarled in a low hiss.

Anette didn't seem to care, keeping her eyes on the babe attached to his hip like a baby koala bear. It took a second before she finally tore her gaze away from Kain's, her smile faltering for a second.

"Wanted to come see how you were doing, and if you were going to come into work tomorrow."

"Are you serious?"

"I am, also we should go on a walk. I need to tell you something."

Ray nodded, shifting Kain on his hip as he followed her down the path to the sidewalk. The two walking in silence until they were three houses away from his own, the questions in his head getting jumbled together that he could hardly think straight as it were.

"What did you tell him?" He finally picked something out of the mess in his head, turning to look at her walking beside him.

"That you and I go to school together, I came to see you because you've been gone for the past two days." Anette answered as she rolled her head on her shoulders to look back at him, meeting Kain's eyes peaking at her over his father's side.

"Would you like me to?" She asked, holding her arms out for him.

"I got him, thanks." Ray didn't mean to bite at her, but he did and his hold on Kain got tighter.

Anette didn't look fazed, at least not outwardly, as she put her hands back down to her sides.

"Lee said he got a flight out for tomorrow; he won't be here until the day after though. So far everything has been fine though, no Savages and no Lap Dogs as of yet. But there has been an issue." She stopped, Ray stopping beside her as he held in a groan.

"What's going wrong now?!" He yelled, then quickly glanced around to see if anyone was outside and thankful that the street was empty.

"Our database has been compromised. We don't know from where, or who it is that got into our system, but everything is being looked at now as we speak."

"H-hold him." Ray choked as his face went pale and he handed Kain over to her before she had a chance to respond, turning to the road where he bent forward and hurled again.

Anette stepped back, holding Kain on her hip as Ray heaved onto the side of the road.

"Well aren't you a big boy?" She cooed to the baby, smiling fondly at him as she gently bounced him on her hip to distract the baby from his father bent over.

"You have your daddies eyes, yes you do and they're so beautiful." She continued as Ray heaved onto the pavement again. "We're doing what we can, but as of now it looks like they've accessed almost everything." She said to his back.

"W-what about the…" He got cut short, with nothing left in his system he was just dry heaving now and breathless again.

Anette waited patiently for him, brushing her fingers through Kain's soft, dark, thin hair and marveled at the slate that was running through it. The babe took her hand and popped the tip of her pinky into his mouth, sucking before he bit down though she barely flinched as the skin broke on the fang.

"What about the personnel files?" Ray finally got out, pulling his hair off his face again as he straightened himself back up best he could.

"Emily was working on moving them before they got ahold of them." Anette answered calmly, letting Kain puncture her pinky again.

Ray stood there for a minute as he went through everything she had told him, not really registering that Kain was using her as a teething ring at the moment as he tried to focus more on the even more jumbled mess in his head.

"How did this happen?" He breathed out, sounding broken and defeated.

"It's very possible there's a rat." Anette answered with a hardened tone, "Once this issue is solved we can have everyone questioned."

"That could cause more problems…" Ray shook his head, stepping up to take his son and finally clocked the woman's pinky in his mouth. "Careful, he really bites hard."

"It's wasn't too bad." Anette handed Kain back over, the broken skin on her pinky healed over. Curling her fingers in to hide the bit of blood that had seeped from the punctures, putting her hands back at her sides and away from Ray's line of sight.

"We'll do whatever you want, but this should be dealt with." She warned cautiously, "A breach like this could jeopardize everyone's lives, especially if these people want to post everything on the internet."

Ray nodded, he knew that and that's what made it harder to believe that someone had leaked their information to start with. Everyone in the BBA was someone he knew, people he trusted with his life.

"I want everyone, and I _mean_, everyone back at headquarters in two hours. I want the American and Japanese branches reached, no exceptions." He finally gave her his answer, his voice cold and hard.

"Very well." Anette tilted her head a little to the side, "I'll see you in two hours." She left him to stand there, holding his son as she went back down the sidewalk towards his home for her car.

Ray watched her go, holding Kain tighter against his side as he felt weak in the knees. Everything was piling too high and the tower was fixing to come down hard and he didn't know of a way to stop it, or even if he could at this point.

He shifted Kain in his hold again, going down the sidewalk further away from his home. Hoping, praying, the chill of the outside would help clear his head some. Once more there were tears in his eyes as he got father away, not looking back and part of him didn't even want to go back.

He stopped his train of thought on the subject, he couldn't turn and runaway from this. He had fallen too far in to do that now, though the trust he had with those he worked with was cracking slowly. His motivation to do anything being swiped right out from under him.

This was why he had refused to become Head Elder, he never wanted to be put in a position of power or leadership. He knew he wouldn't have been able to carry that weight but it was far too late now.

As if sensing his father distress Kain curled himself under Ray's chin, a very small and subtle vibration coming from within his small chest. Ray felt his heart bleed, his tears pouring out harder as his son purred against him but he couldn't force himself to do the same. Only able to hold him tighter to his chest and nuzzle his face in the top of Kain's soft hair as he kept walking.

After reaching the end of his street he turned around, carrying his sleeping son against his chest back home. Recognizing Spencer's car in the drive as he approached and his skin crawled, knowing Bryan was in the house as well but stepped inside anyways.

He knew the others were in the kitchen, he could hear and smell them all collectively but continued to the stairs quietly. There was the sound of a chair's legs scraping against the floor in the kitchen as he made his way up, not looking back as he reached the landing as he could smell Tala coming up behind him.

"Ray?" He called softly, reaching out and touching his shoulder halfway down the hall to the nursery.

"Not right now, I have to go." Ray answered as he pulled from Tala's hold, going to the nursery so he could put Kain down.

Tala waited for him, unsure what to do or say at the moment. The second he had come home Kai had pulled him aside, laying out everything that had been said and confirming the pregnancy to him.

Tala would have been excited if it wasn't for the fight Kai and Ray had about it, among other things. It wasn't often he had to play mediator between them, he wasn't that great at it but he didn't want to see their home break apart like this.

As Ray came out of the nursery, cracking the door gently, Tala moved again to pull him into a hug though Ray stepped back from him.

"Not right now."

Tala frowned; he didn't like this. Ray hardly ever avoided him if he hadn't done anything wrong, but maybe Ray blamed him.

"Talk to me Kit." He still tried, brushing back Ray's bangs from his face.

"I have to go." Ray repeated, pushing past him.

In the foyer he was stopped again, Kai stood there looking sick to his stomach as they met each other's gaze.

"Kain's asleep, he'll need to eat when he wakes up." Ray instructed curtly; he didn't have much else to say to him.

Kai nodded, unsure what to say back. He glanced at Tala standing behind Ray, staring at him pointedly to fix the mess he created but still no words graced the tip of his tongue that could fix it.

"Just be careful." He settled on saying, peeling his back away from the wall and going back into the kitchen.

Ray sucked in a breath; it wasn't what he was hoping for but it was better than nothing at that point. Without a look back he slipped out the front door, Tala letting him go and watched as the door swung close behind him.

"HIWATARI!" Tala's voice boomed as he stormed to the kitchen, his face turning as red as his hair.


	6. Chapter 6

**As requested by Bird, here's a glimpse of what transpired three years ago when Ray's life got turned upside down. There is NO lemon, as if I added that we'd be a good 20 or so pages in here. Ya'll can use your imaginations though, I'm sure.  
This entire chapter just focuses on the past, was not my intention but my fingers ran away from me here and this mess came out of it all.  
Shout out to Bird for suggesting this, I hadn't even really thought of it but I'm glad you mentioned it so that way I could. Shout out to Sakura for looking it over while I was busy trying to get through it, and shout out to Roy for always being there to read my mindless dribble.  
Either way, enjoy!**

* * *

**Three Years Ago. The night of Dickenson's party.**

"Thank you, all of you." Dickenson breathed with a heavy sigh of relief, greeting the sea of eyes at the table around him with a small smile on his pudgy, aging, face.  
"We'll be in contact with you individually, for when we'll need you to come in and get started. We're looking at a good two to three months, possibly more, for the entire process to be finished." Judy added, her own smile on her face as she once more looked around the table.

The men who had been left there didn't know what else to say, what else to do but wait it out. What they were up against was still far from what they could imagine, they hadn't been given much info on what it was Brooklyn had seen that spurned this entire thing, or exactly what they were fixing to do in its entirety.  
"For now, please go out and enjoy the rest of your night. And remember boys, this is to stay between those in this room." Judy said, her voice tilting on commanding as once more her eyes swept through the room as she received the collection of nods back that they understood.

Slowly the legs of the chairs scraped across the tiled floor, each man leaving their folders on the table for now as Kenny went around to collect them. The first two to file out were Brooklyn and Mystel, Max rushing up to join Tyson by his side as Lee followed Ray out of the room into the crowd again.

"I think I'm going to head back to the hotel, really sit on this and maybe change my mind." Lee whispered behind Ray.

"That's fine, I have a few friends I'd like to see though." Ray said over his shoulder, stopping just around the corner of the room they had come from.

"Very well, be safe. I'll see you tonight." Lee gave him a quick pat on the shoulder, his hand slipping from Ray's shoulder as he took his leave and left him there against the wall.

As one of the white tuxedo wearing waiters passed by, Ray reached out and plucked off another tall, thin, glass of champagne and tipped it back quickly. Damning it again for not being something stronger.

Tyson and Max's voices brought him out from his wandering thoughts, the two stepping up beside him and leaning on the wall with him. Max's bright smile not leaving his face as his more tamed blonde bangs had been slicked back, revealing his big blue eyes more than they ever had been. Something in them, something deep, shone brighter than Ray had ever really noticed before.

Around the pupils there was a deep purple to them, amongst the sea of blue, and something told him that was Draciel's powers now fused within Max's veins.

"It's good to see you, Ray." Max started, not once having lost his boyish charm even two years later from not having seen each other face to face like this.

Though the blonde was taller, much taller than Ray had anticipated and leaving him and Tyson as the two shortest from their team.

"Good to see you too, Max." Ray lowered his drink to his middle, making sure to smile back at him even if he didn't feel like smiling at the moment.

What had he just done to himself, hell he didn't know but with Max standing there looking like he didn't have a care in the world, it somehow soothed his breaking nerves.

"Kind of exciting, don't you think?" Tyson dragged Ray's attention to his right, where he had leaned against the wall with the two of them. Pinning Ray between them.

"In a way." Ray said with a slight, forced, smirk as he took another drink of his champagne.

Trying to prevent a war from happening didn't seem that exciting, not to Ray at least, but the prospect of being fused with Driger. Becoming one with him in a way he never had been before, that was exciting as it was terrifying.

"We shouldn't talk about it openly, remember that Tyson." Max quickly scolded, leaning around Ray just enough he could glance at Tyson.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Just, opened my big mouth again before thinking." Tyson grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Glad to see nothings changed." Ray mused around the rim of his glass.

Even if nothing had changed between the three of them, he couldn't stop the feeling in his gut that things were going to change now. And certainly not for the better, but then of course they were going to change. Being in that room it was clear everything was going to change, and almost in the blink of an eye and there was nothing he could do to really stop it.

"Well let's go enjoy the food while we're here." Tyson said, changing course and even if Ray was grateful for the change he felt better sticking to the wall for now.

"You two go on ahead and tell Hilary I said hi." He waved them off, the two already peeling their backs off the wall.

"You sure you don't want to come see her? She's getting huge." Tyson grinned, getting slapped on the arm by Max.

"That's rude Tyson, she's not fat she's pregnant." The blonde quickly scorned.

Ray smirked a little, once more glad to see that things hadn't changed between them.

"I'm sure I'll see her around later, you two go off."

"Alright, see you around Ray." Tyson waved, not one to pass up the prospect of a spread that was calling his name and no doubt the best food he'd ever eaten all thanks to Dickenson.

"It'll be okay. You've done the right thing." Max stalled, his big blue eyes softening as he held Ray's with his own for a second.

"I hope I did." Ray smiled back, though it was just more of a twitch of his lips.

Max nodded slightly, unsure what to say to him as he took off after Tyson through the crowd towards the kitchen. Ray watched the two get lost in the crowd, feeling like he was being swarmed by the voices and smells to a point he finally pulled off the wall to find some fresh air to collect his thoughts more.

Halfway up the stairs he and Brooklyn passed by each other; the red-head nodded in greeting though Ray hardly noticed him walking by until Brooklyn's fingers gently brushed along his arm in a barely noticeable touch.

At once Ray froze on the stairs, feeling like they were being pulled out from under his feet in an instant as the scenery around him looked as though it was sucked away from him in a vortex. Leaving him to stand in the center of a street, the smell of fire and smoke choking his senses. There were screams and cries, explosions were going off in every direction, deafening him to the point he about collapsed to his knees.

"This is what will happen." Brooklyn's voice sounded as though it was coming from within his own head. "This is the future, if we don't act."

Ray's throat, already dry from the fire and smoke filled air, clenched tighter as his eyes widened at the creatures that came into view down the street he was standing on.

They had the form and build of humans, two legs and two arms, though their skin looked as though they had been caught in the fire. A tar like substance covered them was dripping down their skin, while some had tails or wings that were skeletal in structure but once more covered in the tar like substance. The eyes were what shook him to his core. They were nothing but black, empty, holes. In the mouths of the few before him were rows of sharp jagged teeth, nothing like his own fangs he had, but more menacing and animalistic and from their opened mouths their voices were gurgled, as if they had water in their throats and trying to talk. Making no sense in their words, with more animalistic sounds coming from them as they screeched into the air.

"W-What are these?" Ray's voice shook as the rest of his body did, unable to tear his eyes away from the creatures.

"It's what happens to one who can't endure the process, either you survive and gain the power of your bit-beast. You either get nothing, you die… Or this…" Brooklyn's voice came through his head again, sounding grave and saddened.

"They don't know who they are anymore, what happened to them or the lives they lived before this. All they know is to destroy, to kill."

Ray swallowed hard, it hurt with how dry his throat and mouth had become as he felt his stomach twisting in fear. That could happen to him, to the others that had signed up for this process. Judy had said it had flimsy results, but then why would they still go through with it?  
"Because, these are the ones that have been created before." Brooklyn spoke again, as if he had been reading Ray's thoughts all along.

"This is the threat, the last ditch effort of Voltaire and Boris to control the world and we have three years to prepare for it. Maybe less."

"Fight fire with fire…" Ray mused quietly, watching in stunned horror at the creatures that continued to destroy the street he was standing in alone.

"In a way." By his tone, in Ray's head, it sounded like Brooklyn was smiling now. "You have nothing to fear though, this is not what's in store for you."

With the last bit of Brooklyn's words the scene Ray had been thrown into sucked itself back inwards towards him, replacing the sickly smell of fire and smoke with the food and champagne and familiar scents of the people he knew. The cool air of the estate soothing his burning skin, as everything came back to him.

Quickly he turned on the step he had stopped on, watching Brooklyn walking down further away from him. Even with what he had told him, had shown him, it only broke his nerves further. As if sensing his distress Brooklyn turned over his shoulder, four steps down from him, and smiled up at him in the way he always did with his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side a little.

"You have someone waiting for you."

Ray's brow rose slightly, unsure what he was talking about now. Before he could question him, Brooklyn had turned around and finished his descent down the stairs quietly.

Ray turned back around, wanting to shake his head just to get the haunting images to leave his mind. Why, why would Brooklyn have shown him that? Did he think it would help, make him realize that he had made the right decision in agreeing to be fused with Driger? He didn't know, he couldn't put the pieces together fast enough as he finally made it to the second floor.

It was more open, with corners and halls around him to the left and right but his destination sat in front of him; the French glass doors that led to the balcony. His feet moved him automatically as he felt the need for fresh air greater now. He needed to be able to breathe again, and after all of that he felt it harder to do such a simple thing.

Throwing the French doors open he stepped out, letting them swing close behind him, and took in a huge gulp of the fresh air. It didn't do what he wanted though, he still felt shaken. Unable to really comprehend what was fixing to happen suddenly, these things were only in movies and on TV shows. Creatures like that didn't exist in their world, but then again… They did, or were fixing to, and he had seen them.

They were going to create a war, do exactly what Boris and Voltaire wanted. Why, he could only take a few guesses. Who knew where those two went off into hiding after BEGA collapsed, nobody had heard of them since then. It was like they had just vanished off the face of the Earth, no doubt to continue their sadistic experiments though. Creating more of those… Things. Hell bent on destroying the world, ripping families and friends apart at the seams all because they could.

There was a small, almost unnoticeable, tap on the back of his shoulder that jerked him around from the concrete balcony he had leaned against. Feeling all the hairs on his skin stand on end, his heart hitting his chest rapidly from being snuck up on; it wasn't often people could do that to him.

His wild, frightened, golden eyes locked onto soft, concerned, crimson glancing back at him. All at once his body relaxed, his heart rate slowing down as the hair on his body that had raised lowered.  
"You okay? You're spacing out like Tala does sometimes." Kai chuckled quietly, looking Ray over some more.

"Y-yeah I'm good." Ray nodded, trying to smile back but for some reason he just couldn't get himself to really smile today.

At the mention of Tala, Ray glanced around. He hadn't really seen the two of them yet, he knew they were there when he had arrived though. His heart clenched like it always did, it was unfair to do but maybe if he hadn't been such a coward, scared of rejection, he'd have gotten to Kai before the red-head did, but now it was too late. As long as Tala was good to him, and Kai good to Tala that all that mattered.  
"It's been what, two years now right?" He asked in hopes of taking his mind off other things, leaning his back into the concrete railing this time.

Kai arched a brow, something seemed off with him tonight but it could have been the jetlag. He settled standing in front of him, a cigarette between his fingers held at his side as if he had forgotten about it.

"Yeah, two years too long."

"Since?" Ray questioned, there were too many meanings behind those words and he didn't quite like the look he saw that briefly flashed in Kai's eyes.

"Since we've seen each other, for starters." Kai said, lifting his hand to inhale on his smoke and blew out the cloud to the side before turning back to face Ray.

"And since Tala and I have been dating, which is what I think you were asking."

A heat rose along his cheeks, praying he hadn't made it openly obvious of how he felt for Kai. He had done his best to hide it over the course of their time of being on a team, but Kai was no fool and he knew that well enough.

"Yeah, I was asking about the second thing." Ray answered, "So, how's it been?" He asked.

"Well enough." Kai answered, taking another hit off his smoke until he finished it and flicked it over the balcony. "And you?"

"Well enough." Ray threw his words back at him, thinking that was the only thing he could say.

At this point he wasn't sure, didn't really know how to feel all of a sudden with all that he had been told. Had been shown. Then it hit him, what Brooklyn had physically said to him just a bit ago. Was Kai the one that he was meaning, but then why would he be waiting for him?

Sure, they still talked over the phone, sent emails to one another when they had the time. They were still friends after all, even if it had been two years since they had spoken face to face like this.

The way Brooklyn had said it though, it was like he knew something more than he let on and that didn't help. But of course, Brooklyn would know more than the rest of them.

As he glanced at Kai again, trying hard not to drool, another thought passed through his head.

Brooklyn had said those creatures were ones that had already been made, by Boris and Voltaire, did that mean Kai was one of them? How could he ask him, without spilling the secret of what he was fixing to do; become like those things in a sense. Would Kai even answer him after such a weird question anyways, or would that just leave the two of them more confused around each other than they already seemed to be?

He held his tongue; Dickenson hadn't invited Kai and Tala to the meeting or any of the ex Demolition Boys for a reason. He knew, as did they all, that they would either tell Dickenson he was foolish and stop him and his plans. Or, they'd go along with it and Ray didn't want that for them. They had already been burdened enough through the years, they didn't need this on top of what they already went through in the Abbey.

That spurned the question back into his head though. How long had Boris and Voltaire been working on this? Dickenson said it happened before any of them met, so did that mean Kai had the potential to be already fused with Dranzer? Once more he was stuck between wanting to ask and feeling like an idiot for thinking it, but there in the back of his mind was a niggling feeling that he should. Only to hold his tongue again, he'd just ask Dickenson when he saw him again and had the chance. Surely the old man would know, since he already knew all this much.

"You're doing it again." Kai's voice brought him back, only to be stared at blankly by golden eyes for a minute as they blinked in confusion.

"Spacing out."

"Oh, sorry. Just been a long two days." Ray waved it off, hoping he was able to pull the wool over Kai's eyes for once.

"Where is Tala by the way, he was here earlier right?" Ray asked, wanting the distraction something fierce just to keep from 'spacing out' again.

"Probably talking Bryan's ear off." Kai shrugged, though didn't miss the sudden flash of fear appear in Ray's eyes.

Of course he knew Bryan was there, he had smelled and heard him the moment he stepped in. It wasn't a surprise Bryan and the others were there, even the full ex Justice Five were there. It was only natural that Dickenson had invited Bryan and the ex Demolition Boys as well. He knew to keep his distance from him though, regardless if it had been five or so years since their battle, he couldn't stand being around him.

"Left you on your own then?" Ray smirked a little, knowing that even though they had all grown up Kai still wasn't one for crowds. Despite it being a crowd of people they all knew.

"It's why I'm out here." Kai smirked back, coming to stand beside him close enough their shoulders almost touched. "But, why are you out here spacing out so much? It's not like you."

"Like I said, been a long two days. Almost missed my flight the day before, was so tired this morning that I almost missed the taxi that came to get us from the hotel."

"Why did Lee leave so quickly?"

"Not one for crowds anymore himself." Ray answered, quickly trying to come up with lies good enough. "Which sucks for him since he's being propositioned for being the Head Elder now."

"I thought that went to you?" Kai arched a brow.

"That's how it would be, if we didn't put up a fight about it. The line has always been passed through his family, not mine, which still makes me question why I was given Driger forever ago. It's not what I want and Lee respects that, I'm not good with leading people."

"Don't sell yourself so short, you'd make an excellent leader." Kai said, his voice holding a hint of fondness to it.

Another heat quickly rose along Ray's cheeks, "Thanks… And I'm sure you're just the same, Mr. CEO." He nudged Kai playfully in the arm, the heat burning on his face from actually touching him and hoping he wasn't coming across as too flirtatious now.

Kai's smirk turned into a genuine smile, nudging him back just as playfully. Hell, he wasn't blind, he knew of Ray's little infatuation he had with him but as fate would have it. Tala had the balls to ask first, though if he had a pair himself he would have asked Ray before the team split after the BEGA fiasco, and sadly he didn't have any at the time and walked away with the occasional look back.

"Want a drink?"

Ray's head snapped to him quickly before he glanced down at his half empty glass of champagne, he had forgotten all about it.

"Got this, thanks though." He held it up, as if to remind himself to drink it now only to have it taken from his hold and downed by the man on his left.

"Want a drink?" Kai repeated; the glass now empty.

Ray's stomach fizzed, this time not because of the alcohol in his system. What was this game suddenly Kai was playing with him? And why did he like it?!

He swallowed down the lump in his throat, "S-sure."

Kai peeled away from the balcony's wall, striding towards the glass French doors and slipped into the estate again without a word. Ray's eyes had traveled all around his person, finally landing on Kai's ass and spun around to face the backyard once more as his face burned hotter than it had.

Was it too late to just jump down and go back to the hotel? He glanced down; it didn't look like that far of a jump… Maybe a few twelve to fifteen feet, he'd jumped from higher things before.

"Drop your contacts?" A familiar, almost unwanted, voice said behind him. Clearly hearing the amusement in Tala's tone, wondering how many times someone was going to be able to sneak up on him today.

How had he not heard, smelled, him coming up? Maybe it was his shot nerves, the jumbled mess in his head, that was dulling out his abilities for the moment.

He turned back around, wondering why Tala was standing there in front of him looking like he just saw his best friend for the first time after years of being apart.

They weren't really on bad terms, not like he and Bryan were, but Ray didn't know that much about him. Hadn't really cared to know much, when he and Kai talked over the phone or through emails he barely forced himself to ask about him just so he didn't look like an asshole.

"I don't wear contacts." Was all Ray could think of to say back.

"It's a joke, Ray." Tala said as his icy-blue eyes went up and down Ray's person, not caring that the neko-jin saw.

He looked good tonight; it wasn't often that he had seen Ray dressed out of his normal attire. Tonight though, he had really gone out like the rest of them had. While he himself went a bit more simpler, just a nice deep maroon shirt that he tucked into his white slacks with his better black dress shoes. His fiery red hair pulled back in a short ponytail, showing off his undercut and the few silver studs in his right ear.

"How have you been?" Tala asked as he shifted, popping his hip out a little as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Good, and you?" Ray asked, trying to figure out why Tala had just checked him out and why he was even standing there talking to him. He should have gone back to the hotel with Lee.

Tala's shoulders rose a little before they came back down, "Good, and bad. That's life though, not much you can do about it. Right?" He asked, casually strolling up and taking the spot Kai had been at before with his back against the balcony before he hoisted himself to sit up on the ledge of it.

"Yeah… Guess so." Ray answered, feeling himself edge closer away from him.

"I don't bite." Tala said, once more eyeing him. "Hard." He winked.

Ray's face flushed again, "You should probably come down from there, before you fall." He cautioned, if Tala was drunk it wasn't safe for him to sit there.

Tala arched a red brow at him, grabbing the underside of the ledge with both hands and threw himself back. Ray let out a gasp, feeling himself jolt forward to stop him from falling as Tala's body became parallel to the ground fifteen feet below them.

"Relax Ray, I'm not drunk." Tala laughed, pulling himself back up into a sitting position.

The color that had drained from Ray's face came back, slapping Tala on the arm. "You scared me! The hell is wrong with you?!"

Tala laughed harder, "Don't get your tail twisted in a knot there Kit." He winked at him again, his head turning towards the French doors before they opened.

Kai stepped back out onto the balcony a second later with the two of them, a glass of clear liquid in each hand.

"Push him off for me, will you?" Kai said humorously as he walked back towards the two of them, handing Ray's drink out for him.

Ray's mind went one way before it turned and went back the other way, the only thing it could make him do was take the drink that was offered to him though. Unsure of what the hell was going on between the two of them, and why he was still standing there.

"If you want me out of the picture that badly, be a man and do it yourself." Tala challenged, though there was real no bite to his words.

Kai stepped closer, reaching out and pushing against Tala's chest where he made him lean back further than what he had done to himself.

Ray watched quietly, his heart racing in his chest. Was Kai really going to shove him off of there?! He'd be able to land on his feet; Tala would fall to his death.

"Kai! Stop!" He grabbed his arm, pulling him away from Tala.

"You really are wound up tight tonight, aren't you?" Tala said as he threw his body forward, straightening himself up on the ledge again.

Ray let go of Kai's arm, unsure of who to look at at the moment. Tonight had seemed to be hell bent on making him lose his damn mind.

"I just don't want to witness a murder." Ray retorted and shot Kai a quick glare, not missing the small upturn of his lips in a coy smirk as he was focused on Tala sitting across from them.

"Oh please, it'd take a lot more than a simple fall to kill me Kit." Tala waved off, jumping down from the ledge and stepping up to him.

"But I'm grateful for the concern you have for me." He spoke fondly, a little too fondly for Ray's sudden liking.

What game was this?! He had now clue, deciding it best to take a step back from the two of them and actually drink whatever it was Kai brought back for him.

It burned in all the right places as the cool liquid slipped down his throat, feeling it hit his stomach and warming almost instantly. Ah, pure bliss. Kai had found the good stuff for him.

"Why don't we get out of here? Catch up some and grab dinner?" Tala asked, directing his question at Ray.

Ray sputtered into his drink, intent on downing it all in one go, only to choke on the burn.

"Why are you asking me?"

"It's pretty obvious I'm trying to befriend you." Tala said in a mocking tone, with a dull look on his face.

"He's just trying to bed you." He motioned with his thumb at Kai who was busy downing his own drink quietly as if the two of them weren't there.

Ray gagged quickly on what he had in his mouth, holding an arm up to cover his mouth so none of it came spewing out on Tala's face.

"I'm sorry?!" His voice strained, looking between Kai and Tala. Unsure who he should be focusing on again as his brain came to a screeching halt.

Tala looked more amused than he had since he stepped out, his lips going wide in a wolfish-grin.

"Oh, you heard me." He said, turning to Kai next. "When was it? Just the other night when I was screwing you into the sheets, you called out his name instead of mine?" Tala asked, looking like he didn't really care.

Ray's body burned, there was no way in hell that happened. He glanced at Kai; his glass now empty but he was still avoiding eye contact with either of them and maybe that was his answer right there.

"I'm so sorry." He turned back to face Tala; he didn't know what else to say to that.

Had he and Kai been talking too much? The last thing he wanted to do was make Tala feel like he was in anyway coming between the two of them.

Tala bit back a laugh, this was priceless. "What for?" He howled, holding his stomach as his laughter broke through.

"Shit Kit, he isn't the only one. I'm sure. You have nothing to be sorry for though, but it's completely up to you if you want to come with us."

Ray just blinked at him; this couldn't be happening, couldn't be real. After attending a secret meeting to become a soldier for Dickenson, to this, he had to be dreaming. It was the only reasonable explanation for it all, right?

"Come with you where?" Ray asked, wishing to God he hadn't opened his mouth.

"Dinner." Tala reminded, giving Ray another dull look.

"I um…" He didn't know what to say now, if he went then did that mean he'd agree to actually let Kai bed him? Then what of Tala? He couldn't do that to them, couldn't step between them like that. He had already lost his chance with him, even if it hurt himself he wasn't going to.

"Thanks, but I'm good here. Have to get back to the hotel with Lee and all."

"I'm sure he won't miss you, not as much as we will." Tala said, trying not to look too disappointed by the rejection. "If you change your mind though, just call." He said, grabbing Kai's arm and tugging him away and back into the estate to leave.

Ray watched the two of them go, was that Tala's way of telling him it would be alright? That he could jump in between them, what if Tala wanted to join them?!

He looked down at his glass in his hands, he'd need more of this if he even really tried to consider it though… But then again it felt, deep down, that he had already made his decision about it.

Might as well end his mortal life with a bang, what else did he have to lose?

"Where'd you have in mind?" He called after them, stopping them just short of the doors.

Both Kai and Tala turned to look at him over their shoulders, Tala with another wolfish-grin on his lips as Kai had a neutral expression on his face.

"Wherever you want." Tala spoke for the two of them, something Ray noticed he did a lot.

Ray shrugged his shoulders, knocking back the rest of his drink before he stepped up to join them by the doors.

"Surprise me."

"Sounds good to me." Tala grinned at him.

Before, a long time ago, that grin would have scared him seeing it. This time though, it stirred something in the pit of Ray's gut that excited him.

* * *

Somewhere around noon the next morning Ray blinked awake, feeling his head pounding and the room still slightly off kilter. He took in the barely lit room, the blackout curtains cutting off almost all the light, as he shifted under the heavy weight that was laid against his chest.

He groaned, trying to move to get the weight off of him until it hit him. His brain kicked in at all the wrong times and he became stiff under the weight on his chest, realizing now that he was naked under the weight and the sheets of a bed he didn't really remember.

To his left was the sleeping face of his ex captain, his two-toned hair tossed and messed. The slate colored bangs falling in his face, hanging just around his closed eyes. To his right was the sleeping face of his ex captains boyfriend of two years, his own hair undone from the ponytail it had been in the night before. His own bangs falling around, framing his face. The two of them had him pinned by their arms, as if they were afraid that if they didn't hold him down he would have bolted upright and ran.

Part of him wanted to desperately, just get out before either of the other two woke up but the weight of their arms suddenly felt like they were crushing him. Leaving him with no way to escape.

Slowly, as he shifted ever so slightly, he could feel the aftereffects crawling through his backside and legs. There was a sting, hardly noticeable, but at least he didn't feel like he was hurt where he shouldn't be.

What he could remember, beyond the thrill of it and the heat of it all, was that they were gentle with him. Careful even, made him feel a high he had never really experienced before with what he dared call love somewhere in between it all.

As his heart raced and he scrambled through the black fog of the night in his head, the two beside him started to slowly stir awake. Dragging their arms from across his chest, he just noticing that they had placed them over him where all three had been touching through the night.

"Morning Kit." Tala yawned, sitting himself up on the edge of the bed.

Ray went to say something back, what he wasn't sure at the moment but his mind shut down quickly when there was a small kiss being pressed into the left side of his head. The second Kai pulled away his head snapped to him, seeing a small glint of amusement in those deep pools of crimson that were looking back at him almost lovingly.

He felt it again, he knew it had been there, maybe he hadn't wanted to admit it to himself just yet. Hold out too much hope, but he felt love there. How, when and why and so suddenly, he was unsure. But he could hardly question it at the moment.

"Sleep good?" Tala dragged his attention, though he couldn't look away from Kai at the moment.

What he could remember the most, through the better parts, was that they had more of each other than he did of Tala. Each of them had a turn inside him, while he got to be inside Kai at one point. Beyond that, it was still too much of a jumbled mess to pick through and pinpoint each limb and each breathless pant he could vaguely still hear in his head.

"Yeah." He reminded himself to answer, seeing the small smile on Kai's lips and wanting to press his into them again.

"Lunch?" Tala asked, finally getting Ray to turn and look at him.

"I should go…" Ray said, even if his body told him to stay.

Tala frowned as he could feel Kai shift away from him, like he had just given the wrong answer all of a sudden.

"You don't have to stay; we won't make you." Kai's voice shook him, he sounded sad but it could have been Ray's mind playing tricks on him at the moment.

"But, if you ever want to try again. Just call." Tala said as he pulled himself from the bed, leaving his bare pale ass on show as he went off to the bathroom. The shower kicking up not long after the door had closed behind him.

Ray didn't know what to do, again, he felt his body wanting to pull him in two different directions all at once. Before he could stop himself from staying longer he slipped out of the warm covers, flicking the light on that hung above the bed, to find his clothes.

"Did… Did I just screw something up?" He asked, his voice slightly shaking.

Kai shifted up onto the bed, watching him go around the room and picking through the clothing piles on the floor.

"Why would you think that? We invited you, you said yes."

"But… Why?" Ray asked, finally finding his shirt and slipping it over his arms and quickly doing up the buttons to it. Finding one of them broken off, if he remembered right Tala had done that.

"Because we wanted you."

"Is that it?" Ray bit at him, though that hadn't been what he wanted to say initially.

"We still want you." Kai said, not looking fazed by the outburst.

Ray snatched his pants out of the second pile of clothes, jerking them up onto his hips quickly. His hair wrap was left near the door, his shoes he finally saw were halfway under the bed.

"And then what?" Ray breathed in a sigh, going back to the bed and sitting on the edge of it as he grabbed his shoes and kept his back to Kai.

"You come live with us; you know. That sort of thing." Kai answered, watching him carefully and quietly.

Ray's heart stopped; he didn't think that was the endgame here. If anything, he really thought he had screwed something up that he wouldn't be able to past now. This was their relationship but they were willing to pull him into it?

How could he though, he had a new road paved out and waiting for him now. Dickenson and Judy were going to call him in a months' time, he was to be trained so he didn't become like those creatures he had seen in Brooklyn's vision.

There was no way he could just go off with Kai and Tala, even if he wanted to.

"Let me think about it."

"Take your time." Was all Kai said, all he had to say to him.

He could see Ray was fighting with himself about it, and he understood. It was an interesting proposition, one that he and Tala had come to an agreement with collectively. It wasn't just him; Tala had an inkling for the neko-jin just as much as he did. This would work, if they worked hard enough to make it so. And he was determined to make it work.

Checking his pockets for his things, relieved to find everything there, he turned back one last time to look at Kai. If only he could stay, he would, but that road he had to walk down was calling his name. He couldn't stay anymore; he wasn't even sure if he could keep their friendship now and that hurt worse than anything.

"See you around."

Kai gave him a small nod, watching him leave quickly and quietly. He said he wouldn't force him and he meant it, Ray had to make the decision for himself in what he wanted to do here. They had laid it out for him on the table to pick and choose, if he was going to be honest with himself though. He itched to stop him, though the door closed and once more he was too late to have him like he always wanted.

* * *

**One month later:**

Ray stood in the large brightly lit room, the smell of water hitting his senses as there were three, tall, glass cylinder tanks that ran from the floor mid-way to the ceiling near the back center of the room. Along the cold tiled floors were wires, crossing across one another, running from the three tanks to the larger machines that outlined the wall to his left. The control panels all running and spitting out data, some of the lights on it flicking on and off as it processed everything going on.

Emily was at the control panel of the tank on the right, inside the water and attached to multiple wires and an oxygen mask over his face, floated Tyson in a sleep like state.

His eyes were closed, in nothing but a pair of thin shorts to keep his privates from being exposed. The wires attached to him stuck out from his breasts, one being his heart rate monitor, while other thicker tubing had been placed within his arms and made him look like a puppet on strings as they all connected to the top of the tank. Pumping Dragoon's powers into his veins slowly, piece by piece. The bit chip that had always had a home within Tyson's beyblade was in it's own, small, container that was welded into the control panel Emily was standing at.

So far, Tyson's heart rate had been steady and even. Though Ray could still feel himself shivering, whether that was from the chill in the room or that he was getting prepped himself to go in the tank beside Tyson's, he wasn't quite sure yet.

Judy and Kenny were working around him, Brooklyn stood off to the side watching quietly with Dickenson sat in a chair beside him at the right of the room. Hilary was stood on the opposite side of the tank that held Tyson, slowly rubbing the swell of her six month pregnant belly as she watched him floating in the water.

"It's going to sting; the anesthesia will cut some of the pain but not all of it." Kenny said, dragging Ray's attention from the room around them to him.

"We'll be monitoring you closely, so there's nothing to really fear." Judy chimed in, peeling back the sticky tape to a pad before placing it to his chest and adding it to the other three already there.

"Just relax." Kenny said right before the pierce of the needle dug into his skin, pushing down the top of it and administering the anesthesia into Ray's veins.

Ray swallowed hard, trying his hardest not to tremble at the moment. He knew, by watching them earlier with Tyson, that the thicker tubing wouldn't be put into his body until he was halfway knocked out. That didn't help though, since he had watched Tyson almost cry when they had done it to him.

Quickly he glanced at Brooklyn in the corner of the brightly lit room, the tile under his feet cold and making him feel frozen as he stood there. He remembered what Brooklyn had told him a month ago, that his fate was not like those creatures he had shown him but he still had his reservations about it.

"Be still my brother." Lee put a calming hand on his bare shoulder from behind him, as if giving him the strength he needed for this.

Lee was up to go after him, wishing that he was the last to go at all but it was too late to switch places with him as he could feel the anesthesia working against him and trying to put him to sleep.

"C'mon, we got you." Judy coaxed, taking up his right arm and Kenny taking his left.

The two guided him slowly to the glass tank that awaited him, the front of it sliding down with a few quick taps on the control panel. As he stepped in the smell of water hit him again, in a way it almost calmed him but it still also terrified him.

When he woke up, came out of it all, he wouldn't be the same anymore and that terrified him the most.


	7. Chapter 7

**Three Years Ago, One Week Into the Fusion Program.**

_Ray sat at a round table that had been placed in a medium sized room, the curtains were pulled down and the lights were dimmed but over his eyes he still wore the thick, blackened, sunglasses. Lee, who was beside him, wore his own set that hid their unique colored eyes from the rest of the world. Even if the others couldn't see them looking back, they could still see them clearly, even with how dark the lenses on the glasses were. _

_ This was a side effect, for the two of them, from being fused with bit-beasts that were felines and blended in with their own feline lineage. They were adjusting, slowly, but it was almost too painful to stay outside in the sun too long or even have the lights on in any room. Having to constantly wear the glasses now, no matter what it was they were doing; even sleeping the cover of their eyelids wasn't enough to block out the light that seemed to burn their eyes now. _

_ It had only been a week, since the first time they had stepped into those glass cylinder tanks, since they had been given part of Driger and Galeon's powers respectively. Already it was changing the both of them, Tyson as well but he was spared having to cover his eyes or suffer from too bright lights- and the sun. _

_ Collectively they were being effected differently, as was natural based on their files, but thus far they were in the clear of completing the process successfully with no concerns of either of them being rejected. _

_ It was a weight that Ray had carried for a month until he got the news, he would be okay along with Tyson and Lee. What that meant for the others, he wasn't sure as he hadn't asked and wasn't even sure if Judy and Dickenson would tell him. The three of them were the first set; Oliver, Johnny, and Kane would come and experience it themselves the following month when his training with Brooklyn would begin. Mystel would be coming in as the third set with the others from his and Lee's village, once Lee got back to the village himself._

_ The process of it all, aside from having to hide behind sunglasses now, had also drained his energy. If he wasn't busy being tested and retested daily, he was asleep. Needing the rest something fierce, and in turn his normal eating habits had left him. Although he wasn't eating properly, hardly able to stomach anything at the moment, he was still gaining weight and muscle mass; thanks to the power coming from Driger. _

_ Lee and Tyson were the same way, Tyson had lost his normal insatiable appetite and for once he ate at a slow pace and hardly ever finished one plate compared to when he had been a teenager._

_ The three of them were being housed currently in the BBA, which had two locations now. One was to oversee the Fusion Project while the other still ran the Beyblade tournaments, though now a new face had become the chairman while Dickenson focused on the Fusion Project. _

_ The lab that they went into with the tanks was in the basement, always making Ray feel as though he was in spy type film. While his suite sat somewhere on the third floor with the other two. It was a decent sized room, with a small kitchen that he hardly touched or kept stocked and Tyson and Lee's were no different. _

_ Lee would soon return to the village once his training was done, going under Crusher as his mentor, who had been the second to be fused by Dickenson after Max, while the blonde was to train Tyson in the coming months._

_ They had free roam of the building, but they were prohibited from leaving, and when the three could they hung out in the back courtyard of the building behind its walls the kept them from the rest of the world. There were rooms fitted out for them to train in, before they were to be taken outside for the first time in however long their personal mentors deemed fit. _

_ The meeting that was taking place was one Ray had become accustomed to since living in the second BBA, it was a constant thing now before he and the other two were ushered down into the basement for another dose of their bit-beasts powers. _

_ For the most part he had been doing his best to listen though was once again nodding off, feeling the overwhelming urge to just sleep the day away. Fighting with himself to keep his eyes open long enough, listen long enough, to what their tests results said so he knew every detail of what was happening to him and his friends. _

_ Finally, after an hour of going over each of them individually and they were given a clean bill of health and steady progress, the chairs were pushed back and they filed out. Ray taking up the back, Brooklyn walking directly in front of him with Dickenson at the lead; like always._

_ As they walked down the hallway Ray's phone, that he had silenced and kept in his back pocket, went off with a vibration. He stopped short, pulling it out. It wasn't often he got calls or messages now, the only real contact he had were with the people in the building with him and occasionally Hilary when she'd come to see Tyson and update him on the progress of her pregnancy. _

_ Blinking behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses he stared, perplexed, at the text message on his phone. The air in his lungs got caught in his throat, it had been a month since he had heard from Kai but there he was, sending him a text message to see how he was doing. Saying that he was missing him, and then apologizing for the month before. _

_ "Ray?" Brooklyn called, stopping with him but still a small distance away as he turned back to face him. _

_ "Just, give me a second." Ray said, though he didn't look away from the screen of his phone as his fingers hovered over the top of it as if he was going to reply. _

_ "Okay." Brooklyn leaned against the wall to wait for him, the others still going off towards the elevator without them. _

_ "I'm gonna make a call." Ray said, hitting the green button on his phone as he stepped down the hall from where they had come from. Just needing the privacy for the moment. _

_ The arm and hand that held the phone to his ear began to tremble slightly, running through the thousands of things he could say to him; if Kai picked up. It was noon in Japan, which meant it was only six in the morning in Russia. That wasn't a surprise, Kai was an early riser and more than likely had to be because of his job anyways. _

_ Around the third ring and almost twenty steps down the hall, Kai finally picked up. Ray held his breath, everything he had been running through his head coming to a complete stop as did his walking. _

_ "Ray?" Kai called into the phone, sounding apprehensive. But then again, Ray couldn't blame him since he felt the same. _

_ "H-hey…" Ray's brain kicked back into gear, slowly. _

_ "Hey stranger, been a while." _

_ "Y-yeah… Just… Just been busy, I'm sorry." Ray stuttered out, feeling his cheeks warm up. _

_ "Better than us scaring you off." Kai said, by the tone of his voice Ray couldn't tell if he was cracking jokes or if he was genuinely upset. _

_ "No… No you didn't do that. It's just, been too busy to really think about it. Ya know? But, you don't have to apologize for that night." Ray said quickly, feeling his nerves return to him slowly. _

_ Really, nobody had to apologize for anything. He had been willing to jump between the sheets with them then, part of him was willing to do it again. He really had just been too busy to think about it much, and now there wasn't a way he could go back. Not while walking the road he was currently on. _

_ Kai went silent on the other end for a minute, Ray thinking that they possibly got disconnected until he could hear his breathing. It had always been almost unnoticeable, as if he really wasn't breathing, but with Driger within him and heightening everything it was coming in more clear than it ever had before. _

_ "Well, that was all really then. Just wanted to check up on you, see how you were after everything." _

_ "I'm good." Ray spat out quickly as his heart sped up in his chest. This was just as hard as it had been when he had turned his back on him again, after finally being given an opportunity to have him. _

_ "I'll call you back in a few hours, if that's alright? We can talk about it some more." He added, holding his own breath for Kai's answer. _

_ "Sounds good." He could physically see the small smile Kai was wearing just by the tone of his voice, while trying to ignore the shiver running down his back. _

_ "Okay…" Ray waited, saying goodbye felt too foreign right now to him to even say. _

_ "Okay." Kai parroted, no doubt that small smile he was wearing turning into a smirk. _

_ Ray stood there a minute, unsure what he wanted to say back. His brain trying to work into overdrive for something else, if he told him he loved him then what? And why would he so suddenly want to say that? _

_ "Ray." Kai called and he sucked air into his lungs a bit too loudly. _

_ "Yeah?" He got out, trying to shake his head to get it to work for him for once. _

_ "Bye." _

_ "Bye." Ray parroted back, hearing the click on the other end. _

_ He lowered his arm down to his side, feeling frozen where he stood. What was he supposed to do now?_

_ "We need to catch up with the others." He heard Brooklyn call for him from down the hall, being brought back to reality as he stared at him. _

_ "I'm coming." Ray called back to him, tucking his phone away and quickly made his way back towards where Brooklyn had waited for him. _

_ "Did you know?" He asked as they had started for the elevator, walking side-by-side. _

_ "Know what?" By his tone, Ray was sure he was just making fun now and that didn't calm or help him any. _

_ "Know what would happen that night, a month ago, at Dickenson's party." Ray answered, holding back the slight growl he felt wanting to erupt within his throat. _

_ "Some, not all." Brooklyn answered, turning his head slightly to look at him as they stopped in front of the elevator doors as he pushed the button. _

_ "I may be able to see into the future, but the future is always changing. It's never a constant movement, with thousands of branches. What you choose to do with the branches you are handed, is solely up to you." _

_ "I hate it when you talk in riddles." Ray rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, shifting where he stood as they watched the digital numbers of the elevator count upward from it's climb from the basement. _

_ "Here." Brooklyn held out his right hand, the one Ray was closest to, with his palm open between them in invitation. _

_ "Once was enough for me." Ray said, stepping away from him. _

_ Brooklyn smiled at him before putting his hand back down at his side. "Very well."_

* * *

**Present Time:**

"Kain's asleep, he'll need to eat when he wakes up." Ray instructed curtly; he didn't have much else to say to him.

Kai nodded, unsure what to say back. He glanced at Tala standing behind Ray, staring at him pointedly to fix the mess he created but still no words graced the tip of his tongue that could fix it.

"Just be careful." He settled on saying, peeling his back away from the wall and going back into the kitchen.

Ray sucked in a breath; it wasn't what he was hoping for but it was better than nothing at that point. Without a look back he slipped out the front door, Tala letting him go and watched as the door swung close behind him.

"HIWATARI!" Tala's voice boomed as he stormed to the kitchen, his face turning as red as his hair.

He caught up with him in the archway of the kitchen, Kai ignoring him and the stares from the other two at the dinning table as Bryan was leaning back in his chair far enough he could look around the wall that blocked him from the show going on.

"The hell is the matter with you?!" Tala went off, grabbing Kai by the shoulder and spinning him around to face him.

"That was _all_ you wanted to say to him? Not 'I'm sorry for being a major dickwad'?!" Tala continued, not letting Kai get a word in even though he had opened his mouth to speak.

From the table Bryan chuckled behind his hand quietly, though the noise made Tala's ears perk.

"Don't think I won't come in there and hand you your ass either!" He shot past Kai's shoulder, effectively shutting Bryan up and shifting back to focus on his laptop he had sitting in front of him on the dining table.

"What do you want me to do here?" Kai's voice brought Tala's freezing stare back towards him, though he looked more angry at the choice of words Kai had decided on.

Tala's brows rose sarcastically, putting his hands on his hips as he stuck one out to the side. "I want you to grab your balls from wherever you left them and go get him!"

"He left; I don't know where he went." Kai bit back.

"It's called a phone, genius." Tala said with a dull tone, not looking amused.

Kai's face burned, whether in a blush or anger, neither were really sure. "F-fine!" He spat out, shoving past Tala to go find sanctuary in his office and slammed the door shut behind him.

"You better call him! I'll know if you don't!" Tala yelled after him, though stayed in the kitchen.

Kai grumbled under his breath, calming the heat surging along his skin as he put his phone to his ear. It rang, and rang, and rang… And was cut off mid-ring.

The heat that had been dying came back, the temperature in the room skyrocketing around him that covered just the area he was stood in. If it reached out any farther away he wasn't sure if he'd be able to pull it back in, trying his best to calm down. His son was upstairs, hopefully still asleep, while the others were in the house. He didn't need to burn the place down.

As he calmed, putting his phone back into his pocket, the heat retracted back into him and vanished. Ray had taught him some meditation techniques when they were on a team together, he didn't use them often because it was rare these days that he got this upset. His mind was going in several directions though right now, how he was still standing he wasn't even sure.

What if Ray never came back? Actually did what he told him he wanted Ray to do and leave, take Kain back to his village and this time not come home?

He shook himself of the thoughts, Ray wouldn't do that to him or Tala; keep their children away from them like that. But, at this point it was still possible.

He took himself back out into the kitchen, looking broken and beaten as he sat down with the others. Bryan's fingers dancing the keyboard of his laptop and barely sparing him a look, Tala had watched him come in and realized he hadn't been able to get a hold of him. He wasn't going to try though; Ray would more than likely just not answer for him either.

The gut sinking feeling that Ray was blaming him came back, despite the precautions they took it didn't matter. All they could do was wait it out, hope that he'd be safe wherever it was he was going and came home to them so they could figure this mess out.

"Got them." Bryan smirked around the toothpick he had been chewing on, his gray eyes lighting up with amusement as file after file began pouring over the screen of his laptop.

"Who was it that sent you this?" Tala asked, looking across the table at him.

Bryan shrugged, "Don't know, just popped up in my email two hours ago."

Tala arched a brow but didn't say anything, though Kai shifted in his chair. Maybe this was what they needed for a distraction, actually find something more useful than what Tyson was to them.

"There's at least two hundred files on here, I'll send them to you guys. So far though, it looks like they're checking out to be real." Bryan said to the air, though the other two were listening.

Tala got up, going up the stairs to grab his and Kai's laptops from their rooms. Taking the moment Spencer turned his attention to Kai, shifting forward past Bryan to get a good look at him.

"You okay?"

"No…" Kai answered in a bite, "Do I look like I'm okay?"

"No."

"You look like shit." Bryan snickered, his lips upturning into a smirk that pulled the toothpick into the corner of his mouth.

"Thanks asshole." Kai directed at Bryan.

"You're welcome, dickwad." Bryan chuckled, resting back into his chair once he had sent the files to Kai and Tala's emails.

"I sent you half and Tala the other half, they're probably not all there though. The email said it was 'what they could get'."

"And you have no clue who this person is?" Kai asked again.

Bryan rose his shoulders once more in a shrug, "Have no clue, the email is just a bunch of letters and numbers and when I went to reply it said it was unable to send back."

All Kai could do was nod; a lead, no matter where it came from, was still a lead.

Tala returned a few minutes later with their laptops, setting them down and sliding Kai's to him at the head of the table. The two popping them open and quickly turning them on, pulling up their email and going to the attachments Bryan had sent them.

Like Bryan's screen theirs were flooded with files popping up left and right in quick succession, Tala whistled at the files and let them roll out until they stopped. Each one having 60 or so files to go through themselves, all personnel files from the BBA.

"We have one Max Tate, active in America." Tala started, quickly glancing at the blonde's file before closing it down to reveal the one behind it.

"Oh, that's a face I haven't seen before. Whose Kane?" Tala asked, glancing up at Kai.

"Met him our second year as a team, he was on some team that wanted to steal our bit-beasts." Kai said, going through the files that had come up on his screen quietly.

"You do realize he and your son share a name, right? Oh, and it says he's missing." Tala chuckled, not sure why he found it funny.

"Spelt different." Kai said, eyes locked on the pair of yellow ones on his screen staring back at him.

"Mariah." He breathed out, his gut twisting.

The other men's heads turned to him quickly, Spencer having been writing down the names on a note pad and almost scratched the paper as he was busy writing out Kane's name.

"Mariah?" He asked, looking shocked.

Kai nodded, "Says she was fused with Galux three years ago, successfully but that she's in her village."

Spencer could only nod back, "I didn't know."

"Think Ray does?" Tala asked, still looking at Kai on his left.

"He doesn't know about us, why would he know about her?" Kai said as he closed the file and went to the next one.

It was a name and face he didn't recognize, giving it to Spencer anyways before moving on.

"Eddy." Bryan was the next to list off, "Active in America."

For the next four hours they combed through the files, Spencer jotting the names and where they were based in. For a while Kai had been holding his breath, part of him expecting to see Ray's name come across the screen as Lee and Gary's names had already been added to the list but Ray's name had never been called out or popped up on his own screen.

They went down the list Spencer had written out, some of the names and faces they didn't know personally but sounded familiar from tournaments that had continued after they retired from the sport.

Then there was the confirmation that there was a BBA situated in Russia, on top of the one in America and Japan. Surprisingly, Brooklyn's name hadn't been called out but they knew he was one of them; their main target along with Dickenson whose name had also remained from being called out.

An hour into their research Kain had woken up, Kai soothing him with food and a bottle before he took him to play in the living room for a short while and brought him back into the kitchen. Letting him sit in his highchair with a toy while he continued to work, every now and then glancing back at him and feeling like he was breaking all over again.

Finally the four hour mark hit, Kain was becoming restless so Spencer took him back into the living room to entertain him while the other three finished up. Kai's nerves were snapping further with every tick of the clock, Ray had never been gone this late.

He pulled his phone back out, quickly pulling up Ray's number. Unable to shake the feeling that something had happened to him, they were benched for a week still. If something was going on with the Savaged Fusions in the city they wouldn't have a way of knowing, and Tala refused to turn on the news stations; they didn't need to put themselves into a panic.

Even if already they both were.

Tala's icy-blue eyes went to Kai as the call he was making on his phone went unanswered, again, slowly putting it down on the table in front of him as his eyes narrowed.

"Track him." Kai's voice rumbled, only to hide the guilt he felt.

Tala's mouth fell open a little, that was maybe a step too far. One he wasn't willing to take, if Ray knew they had bugged his car and phone they'd both be in deep waters and he wanted to stay on dry land.

"It's only been four hours." He tried to reason, though really he wanted to smack Kai across the face for being such a dumbass in the first place.

This was his fault, his mess that Tala was being forced to clean up. They already had enough on their plates, a broken home was not something else they needed to add to it all.

Kai turned his heated stare to Bryan sitting on the other side of him, he didn't care what Tala had to say about it right now. He just wanted, needed, Ray home and to know he was safe.

He had never been gone this long, left Kain like this, or them without even calling to check on his son.

"Track him." He repeated, holding Bryan's eyes with his.

Bryan shrugged his shoulders, pulling his laptop he had in front of him closer as he began to pull up the program onto the screen. Only for the top of it to come crashing down, cutting it off and his fingers almost getting smashed between it and the keyboard.

"We are _not_ doing that! He'll come home when he's ready!" Tala glared at Kai, holding the top of Bryan's laptop down.

"It's been four hours Tala! He hasn't called, or anything! You know what's out there!" Kai yelled back, wanting to throw his fist down on the table as he felt a heat rising along his skin.

"And it's _your_ fault he left in the first place! Give him some time, you know he'll be more pissed at us for bugging his things and we might lose him for good!" Tala argued back, shifting himself to stand upright from where he had leant across the table to slam Bryan's laptop closed.

"We've never had to use it before, why start now?" He asked in a huff, tired of the tension that had clung to them since Ray had left.

"Because he needs to come home! His son needs him, we need him!" Kai fired off, his stomach twisting in knots for the hundredth time since Ray had left.

If something happened to him, Savaged Fusion or not, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

"I need him..." He breathed out, almost painfully, as the heat on his skin died down and he felt for the first time in years tears pricking in his eyes.

What had he done?!

* * *

Ray stood in his office; the door closed with Anette standing beside him against the right wall from the door. The table that normally was placed in the center of the room had been pushed to the left wall, on the other side of where they stood, leaving one chair in the middle where Brooklyn was standing with a woman placed in the chair in front of him.

Brooklyn's index and middle finger were pressed into the woman's forehead, both their eyes open but without the color in them and only leaving behind the whites of their eyes. The woman was trembling, her mouth clenched shut tight for another few seconds as the air in the room came back as it had suddenly felt like it got sucked out the moment Brooklyn had touched the woman's forehead.

The color in Brooklyn's eyes came back from the white to their natural teal, his hand falling limp at his side as he stepped away from the trembling woman sat on the chair in front of him. For a second they both had to take in large gulps of air, refilling their depleted lungs as the room came back to them. The woman's grip on the bottom of the chair tight, unwilling to let go just yet as Brooklyn pinched the bridge of his nose.

How many more times would he be able to do this? Already they had gone through thirty people, with almost one hundred more and not one so far had been the rat they were looking for. He was getting tired, weak, the side of his head pounding to a point he had never felt before.

"No." He breathed out, his voice shaking as he tried to look at Ray across the room from him.

Ray's back tensed, they had been doing this for hours now. He knew Brooklyn was tired but this was the only way, they had to find the rat; exterminate it.

They had almost lost everything to the leak, Emily had been able to save some personnel files but not all. His was saved, Kenny's and Tyson's were saved with a few others from all three branches but Max's name had been revealed along with Lee's and Mariah's and Kane's and a slew of others. Whoever had hacked their system now knew about them, knew their faces and everything on top of two hundred more out of the eight hundred that worked at the BBA's around the globe.

"Send in the next one." Ray commanded just as the woman, Sasha, was standing on shaking legs in order to leave.

"He needs a break." Anette pleaded beside him, looking between Brooklyn and Ray quickly.

Ray held Brooklyn's eyes, feeling his heart clench. He knew he needed a break, but they were running out of time as it was.

"I'll be fine." Brooklyn spoke, Max having helped Sasha out of the room to bring in the next person waiting outside.

"If you're sure." It wasn't really a question, though Brooklyn nodded to Ray all the same.

Once more Anette glanced between the two men, biting her tongue. It wasn't her place, not her rank, to step over Ray's command. Within minutes the next person was brought into the room, the young receptionist from the medical ward, and was placed in the chair Sasha had been occupying earlier.

Ray sucked in some air, holding it for a minute before he exhaled heavily. Praying that this would be the last one, not just for Brooklyn's sake, but for all of theirs.

"Damien." Brooklyn drew the young man's attention to him, as they both sucked air into their lungs as Brooklyn reached out with the two fingers till they touched the center of his forehead like he had been doing to all of the ones that had come and sat in the chair.

Damien's head went back, the color in his eyes vanishing into the whites as did Brooklyn's and a stillness came over the air again. Damien's jaw clenched, much like Sasha's had done as his body began to tremble. Five minutes passed until Brooklyn staggered back, holding the sides of his head this time as blood began to seep from his nose.

"No."

Ray's arms that had been over his chest tightened around himself, gritting his teeth tight enough he was on the verge of chipping them against each other.

"Out." He barked, tired of this and knowing that he couldn't keep pushing Brooklyn to do this.

Max quickly helped Damien to his feet, steadying the younger male and out the door. This time not coming back. Anette went to Brooklyn, pulling the chair around behind him so he could sit but avoided touching him as he fell back into it. It took a bit longer than last time for the color in his eyes to come back, the blood from his nose now running down into his upper lip as he heaved in heavily to gain air back into his lungs.

"Get him some water." Ray ordered from his spot against the wall, every nerve broken within his body.

Anette nodded, swiftly taking herself out of his office to do as he commanded. Once the door was shut Ray pulled away from the wall, stepping up slowly to him with the intent on touching him.

Brooklyn's head shot up from within his hands he had cupped it in, biting back the pain raging in it best he could as he jumped to his feet, knocking the chair over behind him, and stepped around it to avoid Ray coming closer.

"Don't do that." He warned, though his warning went unheard.

In an instant Ray's body was gone from where he had been standing, a flash of green being the only indicator that he had moved, and was now left standing where Brooklyn had been in the center of the room. Ray's head shot up towards the ceiling, having felt the gust of wind on his back.

"Get down here!" He growled out; his pupils slit from the accumulation of anger raging through his body.

"Why don't you come up here instead?" Brooklyn taunted, knowing he had to stay hovering in the air above to avoid him. He couldn't let Ray touch him; he didn't need to see what he had even if it pained him to keep it hidden.

"Why are you hiding it from me?!"

"Because I could be wrong! You could have changed it already; it won't do you any good now!" Brooklyn called back down at him, "You have enough stress on your shoulders, don't force me to add more!" He yelled, his black wings beating back to keep him steady as his head almost touched the ceiling.

Ray wanted to rip his hair out. Yes, he was under a lot of stress but that couldn't be helped right now. Nothing could help him, why he was so hell bent on knowing Brooklyn's vision to begin with he wasn't sure. The terrible gut feeling he had since that night Brooklyn had called him hadn't left though, even if he told him Kain was safe. He couldn't hold out anymore hope, he didn't have any left to give.

"Stay up there then!" He seethed; the door slamming shut with him no longer in the room with another flash of green that was the only sign of his departure.

Brooklyn sighed as he lowered himself back to the ground, wiping the trail of blood with the back of his sleeve, smearing it in the process but didn't really care at that point as he picked the chair back up and sat down to rest.

The door opened and Anette stepped in with a bottle of water, handing it to him quietly as he gave her a small smile of thanks. She being careful not to touch him as she passed it over.

"Why do I get the feeling you pissed him off again?" Anette asked with a small smirk.

"Because I did." Brooklyn said as he twisted the cap, looking slightly smug as he took a few sips of water.

"How's your head?"

"It'll pass." Brooklyn reassured, going quiet so he could focus on rest and drinking the water she had brought him.

"As will his anger towards me, it never lasts." He smirked, really looking smug now as he caught her gaze with his.

Anette chuckled a little, "You two act more like a married couple than work partners sometimes."

Brooklyn paused in taking another drink from his bottle, looking stunned for a second before he smiled again.

"He still hates my guts from when I almost killed Kai, he only puts up with me because he had to."

"Oh?" Anette seemed interested, having only really been talking to him because she didn't know what else to do at the moment.

"When BEGA was still a thing, Kai and I bey battled-twice- and although he lost the first time he won the second time around. Though, he had sacrificed much in order to win. Was put in the hospital for a short while in order to recover… I might have lost a bit of myself at the time, so the damage done to him was almost life threatening." Brooklyn explained with a calm look upon his face, a very small glimmer in his teal eyes as he told her his story.

"You almost went Savage? Is that what you're saying?" Anette asked, sounding more and more interested.

"At that time, it's very possible I might have been." Brooklyn answered, finally finding the strength he needed to stand up again.

"Thank you for the water… Saisei." He said in a low tone, stepping past her.

Anette froze up, her crimson eyes going wide as she spun on her heel to watch him leave. The door closed behind him before she was able to speak, much less do anything to him. As she stared at the door she frowned, hard, her hands clenching at either side of her as a heat raced along her skin and her crimson eyes became alight with a fire within them.

* * *

Tala sighed heavily as he laid Kain down into his crib, the tiny version of Kai passed out to the rest of the world around him. It wasn't often he was left to care for him, but he had fed him dinner and bathed him since his one father was still missing and his other had holed himself back up in the office downstairs and it was nearing ten at night.

Spencer and Bryan had left an hour after dinner, Tala having been left to make it for them all and watched as Kai only picked around at the food. No doubt, now holed up in his office, Kai was looking up the news of the day to see if there had been any attacks in the city or somewhere else. Hopefully there weren't any, otherwise Tala was going to have to deal with an even more broken man.

As he stepped out of the nursery his phone started to ring, quickly cracking the door and rushing to his room he answered the call.

"_Please_ tell me you called him first." He fired off before Ray could get a word in, sounding like he was begging that Ray had.

"Just give me some time Tal, you can tell him I called and that I'm fine. I'm just calling to check on Kain."

Tala blew out a breath as he fell onto his bed, pulling at the strands of hair that fell in his face. "Whatever you need Kit, as long as you're okay. Kain's fine, just put him down. Fed and freshly bathed too." Tala said proudly.

"You're the best." Ray chuckled into the phone, there had been a reason he called Tala instead of Kai. He just needed to talk to one of them without getting a thousand apologies and being begged to come home when he needed to stay where he was, how much longer he was going to stay though he wasn't sure. Nor did he know what to tell Tala.

"That's why you love me." Tala joked, liking the sound of Ray laughing on the other end. "You really are okay though, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed to get out, but I don't know if I'll come back tonight."

"Are you mad at me, or just him?" Tala asked, the smile he had been wearing getting swiped off his face.

"I'm not… I'm not really mad at either of you, he just put his foot in his mouth like he normally does and it hurt. Why would you think I'm mad at you though?"

"Because of the baby." Tala answered quickly.

"He told you?!" Ray about yelled into the phone.

"Of course he did, you know how he gets if you get all bent out of shape because of him being a dickwad. Took less than thirty minutes for him to tell me what he did, then just stood there looking like he didn't know what the hell to do." Tala laughed, getting Ray to laugh with him.

"Sounds about right." Ray sighed into the phone, "No, I mean… I'm not overly thrilled about it right now, but I'm not mad at you for it. We tried to prevent it from happening and it didn't, not much else to it."

"Well that's a weight off my shoulders at least." Tala huffed out another laugh, "Then why have you been gone so long?"

"Just need the time Tala, he said some really hurtful things…" Ray answered as there was some truth to his words. It had hurt what Kai had said to him, implicated, on top of needing to stay at the BBA for the time being.

"I know Kit, and it wasn't your fault. Okay? You know how he likes to put his foot up his own ass." Tala said softly.

Ray choked on a sob that got stuck in the back of his throat, "Yeah…" He breathed out, trying to hold it in.

"C'mon now Kit, don't do that anymore…"

"I'm sorry…" Ray cried into the phone, no doubt with actual tears running down his face now.

"It's okay." Tala's soothing voice reassured, wishing Ray was there so he could comfort him. "Do you want me to let him know you called?"

"I'll call him." Ray choked out.

"Okay, love you."

"Love you too Tal."

Tala let his phone drop down at his side once the click hit his ear, running his free hand down his face with a groan. His ears perked as he could hear Kai's phone going off downstairs, a small smile creeping it's way up his lips as he settled more down into his bed. Finally relaxing, and praying Kai wouldn't fuck this up anymore than he had.

* * *

Ray sat on the ledge of the rooftop, the night air cold against his skin as he kicked his feet with his phone pressed to his ear. Tear tracks had dried on his cheeks, having fought off the rest of his crying before he dialed Kai's number and got him to pick up on the first ring.

"Hey baby." He started, knowing he probably cut off half of Kai's apologies already.

"Hey…" Kai responded, more than likely his head spinning with that type of greeting. "Where are you?"

"Just out, don't have anywhere to really be right now."

"You can come home." Kai responded, sounding desperate.

"Just give me some more time Kai, I promise I'm fine though." Ray said, taking a second to breathe before he started back up.

"I'm not sorry for not wanting to leave you two, I understand why you want me to. Especially with the new one on the way, but I can't leave."

"I don't… I don't really want you to babe. I didn't mean what I said either, or anything that came out of my mouth." Kai went off, Ray heaving a sigh because he wasn't going to stop unless he stepped in.

"It's okay, I know. But listen to me, please." That got Kai to shut up, sitting on the line patiently for him to continue.

Ray kicked his feet some more, really going over what it was he wanted to tell him as the wind blew his hair around his face. Taking in a deep breath of the city night air, the moon at it's fullest and brightening the darkened sky high above him.

"I'll be home sometime tomorrow, when I'm not sure but I promise I'll come back." Ray started, hoisting himself to stand on the ledge and began to walk the length of it with the city sidewalk and roads miles and miles below him.

"What you said, was wrong of you and I know you know that and I'm not going to sit on it too long because I know how _stupid_ you can get sometimes. There's a lot to take in with this new baby, on top of Kain, but your jealousy over it is also wrong." Ray said, his voice having gone slightly deadly as he continued along the thin ledge of the rooftop.

"You shouldn't be _this_ upset that this child isn't yours, not when Tala has had to sit back the past eighteen months watching us with Kain." Ray continued to lay into him, hearing Kai fixing to speak he cut back in.

"And don't you dare try to lie to me that you're not, I know you better than that Hiwatari." At that Kai closed his mouth on the other end quickly, "So you best get your ass up those stairs and make it up to Tala too."

"I will." Kai finally had a chance to respond, "Just be careful out there, and call us if you need something."

Ray pinched the bridge of his nose as he came to the corner of the rooftop's ledge, standing at the end of it as he looked down at the streets and the cars that looked like dots just passing by on the brightly lit street below him.

"I will, give Kain my love."

"Of course. I love you." Kai said more firmly.

"I love you too, I gotta go now."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye baby." Ray added, just to let him know that he was done with the bad blood between them before he hung up. Staying where he was at the ledge of the rooftop, staring down at the world going by him without a second look back.

"It's a long way down, don't think you'll be able to land on your feet this time."

Ray smirked a little, though didn't turn to face Max standing behind him. Keeping his eyes and focus on the streets and cars, even with it all being so far away, to him it looked as though he was only maybe ten feet up instead the thirty stories he was standing up on.

"Everyone doing okay?" Ray asked, the breeze hitting him again as it swept past the two of them.

"For the most part. Brooklyn is sleeping, which is normal for him after something like this and the bleeding has stopped."

Ray nodded, "Where's Anette?"

"She left; nobody has seen her since the first round of trials." Max answered, his heart stopping as Ray spun around on the edge of the rooftop and only breathed easy when he hadn't fallen off.

"And who the hell told her she could leave?! We're on a lock down!"

"Fuckin hell…" Ray growled, jumping off the edge of the rooftop and went to his work phone to call her.

"Brooklyn didn't check her." He muttered angrily, shaking his head.

"Do you want to send someone out?" Max asked, hoping Ray would calm down some. It wasn't good for him to be stressed like this while pregnant again, he had been put on bed rest with Kain because he kept insisting in coming into work and they didn't need a repeat of that.

Ray waited as the phone rang in his ear, only for him to let a feral sounding noise come from within his throat as his call had gone unanswered. His pupils slitting to fine points, as he gripped his phone in his hand tighter.

"I'll go after her."

"Ray…" Max stepped up to stop him, though before he could Ray wasn't where he had been standing last as a green blur of light shot past him and the wind swept past him in the opposite direction it had naturally been blowing before.

"I hate it when you do that…" Max grumbled under his breath, quickly pulling out his own phone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning: Odd descriptions of gore, blood, and violence.**

**Thank you all who are still stickin around with this, I really appreciate your guy's support to this! Hopefully I'm still making some sense with this. **

**Think that's about it, so enjoy!**

* * *

Ignoring the questioning stares as they stormed through the halls, Kai and Tala continued down the length of the room that held their desks, the morning sun shining through the many windows that outline the walls. No doubt Roman had already been informed of their arrival, not that they cared for the moment, they had one place in mind and they were intent on getting there. Clutched at Tala's side was the notepad Spencer had used the day before, with the names of those in the BBA written out with two hundred names; some familiar and some they didn't recognize.

As the two went to the small elevator hidden off around the corner of the control room, the doors burst open and Roman stormed out towards them as Kai hit the button.

"The hell are you two doing here?!" He went off quickly, though the two barely spared him a second glance and that infuriated him more.

"Did I _not_ make myself clear earlier? You're benched, for a week!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, gathering more eyes in the room.

Heads snapped around to watch with mild curiosity, though the other two kept their eyes forward as Tala clutched the notepad tighter in his hold. Roman inhaled to start again, his pale face turning red quickly and choked on his next words as the elevator doors opened but the two paused with the quick succession of heels clacking against the floor their way.

"I asked them to come in, if that's a problem?" Anette asked, her voice cool as she approached; commanding the room with her presence alone.

Tala held his breath, already the smell of her hitting him hard and making him want to gag just as badly as all the other times she was ever around until something in his head clicked.

Two days ago… Something about two days ago and a smell… It wasn't possible, was it?

He turned his head over his shoulder, taking her in as he slowly and carefully inhaled more of her nauseating smell. It clicked harder in his head, that was the smell he had recognized coming off of Ray.

Roman looked Anette over slowly before he began to shake his head slowly, backing away from the other two quietly.

"No." He snapped before turning on his heel and disappeared back through the doors that led to the control room, the door slamming shut behind him.

Anette smiled at the back of Kai and Tala's heads; the elevator doors still opened and awaiting them.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked coolly, crimson eyes going down to the notepad at Tala's side.

Kai glanced at Tala beside him, secretly and silently asking if they should tell her or not. Though the look on Tala's face already told him not to, to keep their mouths shut about what they were doing.

"Seeing an old friend." Kai said as he stepped into the small metal box, Tala quickly jumping in behind him.

Anette's painted red lips upturned into a smirk as the doors slid close, the three of them staring almost heatedly at each other before their line of sight was cut off by the doors.

Tala finally released the breath he had been holding, almost panting to get the air back in his lungs. Her scent lingering in the air, but not enough to make him want to gag too badly now as they rode the elevator down to the bottom level.

"Let me talk to him this time." Tala broke the silence, though kept his eyes on the doors in front of them.

"If you think it'll do us any good." Kai retorted, refraining from rubbing at his tired eyes.

Under their eyes they both had impressive dark circles marring their pale skin, going almost a sleepless night without the third member of their family and of all the nights Ray wanted to stay out, Kain wanted to be restless. The two had tried their best, passing the babe from one to the other during the night but it was like Kain didn't want either of them for the time being. At least, they both figured, Ray had the decency to let them know he was alright at six in the morning but since then they hadn't heard from him and it was now ten in the morning; Kain having been left at the daycare for the time being.

After the short ride down the metal silver doors opened up to reveal two more guards, standing firm in front of the chain-link fence that spanned across the hall and from the floor to the ceiling. The two fitted out with guns strapped across their chests, eyes looking in question at the two coming out of the elevator.

"Prisoner 321." Tala stated as he stepped into the hall.

The guards exchanged quiet glances before the one standing in front of the door nodded, letting the other go to the control panel to open it for the two of them. Kai and Tala not missing the way they were holding their guns tighter, looking as though they were on edge and could only assume that they had been told to keep an eye out for them.

The chain-link gate opened, letting the two pass through quickly before it closed on them and they stepped up to the heavy metal door of Tyson's cell. The buzz went and the light above it turned green, the lock being released for them. Letting Tala push the door open, Kai striding in behind him quickly and letting it fall close with a heavy bang. The light above the door, outside in the hall, going back to red as it locked.

Tyson glanced up from his spot on the floor, the breakfast that had been brought to him an hour ago left untouched and sitting off in the corner by the flap in the wall, next to the door, that it had been shoved through.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise." He grinned, pushing on his knees to stand and kept his back firmly pressed against the wall.

"What can I do for you two?" He asked, pushing back his midnight-blue bangs from his face. The rest of his hair falling around his shoulders, unkempt and untamed.

Tala held the notepad out to him, jerking it forward with a hardened frown on his face.

"Wondered if you could give us some insight to this." He spat.

Tyson's eyes went to it, though he didn't touch it. "What is it?" He asked, glancing back up at the two of them with an air of cockiness to his stance and tone.

"If you opened it, you'd know." Kai barked out, getting elbowed in the ribs quickly by Tala.

Tyson's lips twitched slightly into a small smirk as he took the notepad, flipping through it quietly with a neutral expression on his face. His brown eyes scanned the names written out, going slower and slower down the list carefully once he realized what it was. The two not missing that he was on the search for a name now, watching him quietly for a minute before Tala cleared his throat.

"What can you tell us about those names there?"

Tyson's eyes moved up from the paper and list of names, his heart slamming into his chest for a minute though his face remained neutral as he shut the notepad closed and held it back out for them.

"Not much."

Kai grit his teeth and bit his tongue quickly, lest he get another hard elbow into his rib.

"You sure about that?" Tala asked coolly, putting his hands on his hips instead of taking the offered notepad back from him.

"There wasn't a name on there that perked your curiosity? Or maybe the lack of a name… Like yours?"

Tyson shrugged, "It's a list of people we know, nothing surprising about that."

"It's a list of people that are like us, what we want to know is _why_ they're on that list in the first place." Tala answered, though his voice wasn't hard or demanding. Keeping the neutral tone, much like Tyson was.

Tyson's brows rose into his hair line, fading behind the unruly mess of blue hair. "You sure about that? Because my name wasn't on there."

Kai pulled his arms in around himself, remembering the last time he hit him and broke his hand. Biting his tongue harder as a fire ignited in his eyes, locking hard on Tyson.

"Your name might not be on there, but you are like us and so are the others on that pad. Not all, of course, in case your dense brain couldn't figure that out itself, we wrote down who was and who wasn't fused." Tala answered him.

Tyson popped open the notepad again, "Oh yeah, there it is." He smirked, knowing exactly what he was doing. "Can't help you though."

"I think you might want to rethink that." Tala said as he stepped up close to him, "Because I am losing my patience here."

Tyson tilted his head back, leaning it against the wall behind him, as he locked eyes with Tala. Another coy smirk taking the width of his mouth.

"If you could hurt me I'd be more scared, since you can't I'm not and I'm not going to tell you shit." He spat as he shoved the notepad against Tala's chest, keeping their eyes locked.

"What's the matter, the dogs tired of chasing their own tails? Done taking commands from their master all of a sudden?" He asked, peeling himself away from the wall and going to the stiff cot that was pressed against the wall to his left. Sitting down on the edge of it, watching them watch his every move.

Tala held back from hitting him, he knew it wouldn't do any good except hurt himself in the process.

"I'm going to be real with you for a second here, since you've been in here the past three months or so." Tala started, holding the notepad at his side again.

"It's getting worse out there, you have a son that you should be thinking about at a time like this. Kai and Ray have a son, there are plenty more out there who are _dying_ while you want to sit here and act like the world isn't going to _shit_!"

"I don't see how that's my fault, you two locked me up in here." Tyson said as he blinked at the two of them almost mockingly, "I'm sure that if Ray knew, hell he wouldn't be very happy with either of you." He smirked at them again.

"And let's not talk about what Hilary would do to the two of you, once I get out of here." He added.

"Why would Ray know, why would he care? We did it because you forced us to!" Tala bit out angrily.

"I was there to help!" Tyson shouted back, his neutral face twisting hard. "If you two would open your fucking eyes you'd see that what you're doing is wrong here!"

Tala refrained from smiling, finally. Progress.

"How are you there to help? Really, finally realized that you all fucked up?! That Dickenson was playing with something he knew nothing about!"

Tyson stared at him for a second, realizing he had slipped and kept his mouth closed.

"Oh no, don't you do that. You have that big mouth of yours, put it to good use for once!" Tala scorned, taking the notepad and smacking Tyson across the face with it harshly.

Tyson barely moved or flinched, hardly recognizing that he had been smacked at all. "Oh, that hurt…" He mocked, "Use your hand, trust me it hurts a lot worse."

"You think I'm stupid?" Tala asked in his own mocking tone.

Tyson's eyebrows went back up as he looked Tala up and down quickly, "Yes."

Tala's face went as red as his hair, his hand itching to hit him like he wanted but stopped short again. He didn't need to break his hand because of him.

"People are dying Tyson! Why don't you get that through your thick and hardened skull!"

"And you think blaming me, or Dickenson, is the answer to it?" Tyson asked, pulling his legs up under him as he sat cross legged on his cot.

"We didn't know about you two, or the others from the Abbey. All we knew was there was a threat, what Dickenson did was to stop that threat and yet here you two are. The threat Dickenson was worried about, tried to stop."

Tala turned and caught Kai's eyes, that to them didn't sound right.

"What're you talking about? If he didn't know about us, then how were we a threat?" Kai asked, tired of being silent through this all.

Tyson shrugged, "You tell me, since you killed him." He bit.

Tala and Kai looked between each other again, "What're you talking about?" Tala asked, looking confused for the first time since stepping into the cell.

"We haven't caught him yet."

Tyson's eyes narrowed, his face hardening again. "The fuck you talking about?! He's been dead for two years! You two killed him, took the damn formula and twisted it to make those… THINGS!" He shouted out angrier than he had been before.

"What do you mean he's been dead for two years?!" Kai's voice roared out of him, "We've been looking for him, since we put you in here!"

A laugh ripped through the room from Tyson's throat, his head shaking slowly. "Then you two are fucking stupid… Please tell me Ray only agreed to be with you two because you can shag him good."

Tala's hand threw out, gripping Tyson around his neck as he shoved him against his bed and onto his back. "You say his name again, and I will find a way to cut through that armor of yours." He hissed out dangerously, his fingernails chipping against Tyson's skin.

Tyson smirked, the pressure on his neck barely noticeable but didn't move to shove him off. He didn't need to break their faces.

"It's just as I said, he's dead. Been dead for two years, the formula he had was stolen. Maybe I was wrong, it might not have been you two that did him in, but how would the government have gotten a hold of the formula in the first place? Creating more of those monsters?"

Tala faltered for a second, pushing Tyson back harder before he released his hold on him and stepped back from the bed.

"They didn't do that; Dickenson and the BBA are the ones who created those things!" Tala bit out, though the cogs in his head were working in overtime as he tried to piece together everything.

Tyson sat up, snatching the notepad from Tala's hold and flipped through it to the first set of names he came across.

"Oliver, fused three years ago, nonactive in France. Salima, fused unsuccessfully, active in Japan. Gary, fused three years ago and active in China. Zeo, fused unsuccessfully, nonactive in Japan." Tyson listed off, glancing back up at Tala with another hardened expression on his face.

"As you have right here, is the logs of those who are fused and who isn't but those who were unsuccessful have not turned into those _things_! The formula that was taken, which was perfected, was twisted by _your_ master here. Maybe you two aren't the threat we were warned about, but that doesn't change the fact that what Brooklyn saw has finally come to pass."

"Brooklyn saw this? He's not on the list." Kai said quickly, "Is he dead too?"

"No, last I knew he was alive and well. Looking at this, you barely have half of the actual number of people that work for the BBA." Tyson said as he flipped through it again, once more on the search for a particular name that he prayed wasn't on there.

If it was, they'd all be screwed.

"Why are you even bothering asking me these things? That tired of chasing your own tails here?" Tyson asked as he flipped through the pages some more, eyes raking carefully down the names.

"Yes." Tala answered in a breath, "Because we've not made a dent in what's going on, and the stakes have been raised."

Tyson arched a brow, glancing up at Tala standing at the edge of his bed. "Aside from what they already were?" He asked sarcastically.

"Ray is with child again." Tala answered quickly.

Tyson's face paled as his mouth hung open slightly, that wasn't good…

"Then I suggest you let me go." His voice rumbled out of him.

He needed to get back out there, help Brooklyn and the others since he knew Ray wouldn't be able to now. No doubt that was killing him, it was something he knew Ray wasn't going to be happy about at all.

"And why would we do that?" Tala asked in a mocking tone.

"Hello dumbass! Because we're on the same side here in the end, even if the government is the reason these things exist in the first place, our end goal was to get rid of them. Change them back if that was possible, before there was an all out war!" Tyson yelled as he jumped to his feet as he threw the notepad down on top of his cot, getting in Tala's face.

"Is that what Brooklyn saw, a war?" Kai asked, not looking fazed as Tyson got in Tala's face. Tala could handle himself.

"Yes!" Tyson yelled at him past Tala's shoulder, "And you two throwing me in here has only made things worse, good job you dumb fucks! Wait till Ray finds out." He shook his head, stepping back from Tala.

"Why would he?" Kai asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Unless you plan on keeping me here for the rest of my life, don't you think he'll find out?" Tyson said, he wasn't that stupid to out Ray's secret.

His name wasn't on the list, thankfully, and it wasn't like Ray knew about the two of them either since _he_ himself didn't know until they had captured him three months ago.

"Be glad my skin is thick enough it can't be pierced by needles, otherwise you two would have had another mess on your hands."

"What're you talking about?" Tala asked quickly, though his stomach twisted.

Everything Tyson had already said, opened their eyes to more, was a weight he hadn't expected to have pressed down on his shoulders. All along they had been on the wrong side, at least from what Tyson had said but that couldn't be it… Could it?

Tyson rolled his eyes, "Why did you put me in here?"

"We were told to." Tala answered quickly.

"And you didn't think to ask why?" Tyson asked, sarcastically batting his eyes at him.

"Don't think we didn't, we're not privy to everything going on here." Kai spat out angrily.

"They wanted to turn me." Tyson answered, not even batting an eye this time as the air in the room stilled suddenly. "Thanks to being fused with Dragoon, they couldn't, every needle they put to my skin broke and shattered the moment they tried. Of course, they also tried to get information out of me while I've been here but I'm not that easy to crack."

"You told us." Tala interjected, the horrible twist in his gut getting tighter.

They had been played, working against their friends and supplying the government with more Fusions to create more Savages. The ultimate question, in the end, was still and would always be- WHY?

"As you said, the stakes are higher now." Tyson answered coolly, sitting himself back on the edge of his cot. "I'm to assume Ray doesn't know what kind of life you two have led?"

"Of course he doesn't." Tala rolled his eyes, putting his hands on his hips quickly. "He doesn't know about any of this, but he's out there right now in this mess and we don't know where he is."

Tyson rose another brow, "Trouble in paradise gentlemen?"

"We're not here to divulge in our home life with you." Kai growled out low, "If you have anymore information though, about the Fusions or Dickenson."

"I've told you all I know." Tyson said with a small smile on his lips.

"Who runs the BBA now, since Dickenson is dead?" Tala asked quickly, trying to work through the mess in his head.

Tyson shrugged, "I'm not here to divulge in the BBA's home life with you."

Kai grit his teeth, "Then it won't bother you if we keep you here a bit longer than, until everything checks out."

With that he turned, going to the door and hitting the metal hard to grab the attention of the guards on the outside. There was a buzzing noise, the light on the outside turning green as the lock was released.

Tala followed him out, shooting Tyson a quick look back as he was watching the two leave his cell with a smile on his face. The notepad left sitting beside him on his cot, Tala letting him have it as he stepped out into the hall with Kai and shut the door. Locking Tyson back in there, feeling bile rise in his throat.

"We've fucked up…" He muttered out low.

"That's_ if_ he's telling the truth." Kai stated, starting down the hall to the chain-link wall to get out of there.

"Why would he lie, about any of that?" Tala shook his head, "He's right though, we asked why we were tasked in bringing him, and others, in and they didn't answer us. What if they tried to change him?"

"Then we'll have Bryan and Spencer go through the files, see if what he said checks out." Kai answered quickly, getting to the gate and being let through and back on the other side.

Tala followed him quietly into the elevator, letting the doors close before he turned to Kai beside him.

"There's something else."

Kai rose a brow, meeting his eyes quietly and waiting for him to continue.

"The day Ray was gone, the day of the Highland attack, he smelt like Anette."

Kai's brow rose higher until it fell, "He knows her from school."

"School?" Tala shook his head, that didn't sound right but there was a possibility.

"She came over yesterday, before he left, said she knew him from school. We have our own lives, outside of this, why wouldn't she have her own?" Kai asked, already answering the questions that were running in Tala's head a mile a minute.

"That…" Tala stopped, what more could he say to that? "Now what?" He settled on.

Kai shook his head, "Check and make sure what Tyson just said checks out."

Tala nodded slowly, it seemed that was all they could do after all.

As the elevator stopped on their floor and the doors slid open Anette was there waiting for them, something in her eyes telling them something was wrong.

"Looks like your bench ends today boys." She started, sounding happier than she looked. "There's activity going on."

Kai and Tala's hearts clenched, both itching to grab their phones and call Ray up to see where he was. Just to make sure he was safe.

"Let's go boys, Roman wants to brief you." She waved them on, going to the doors on the side of the wall. Leaving the two to follow after her.

Tala grabbed Kai's arm, "I'll call him."

Kai nodded, going after Anette quickly through the doors to the control room.

Tala grabbed his phone quickly, turning it on and seeing he was already missing a call from his kitten. He jabbed his finger into the screen, pulling up Ray's number as his heart flipped inside his chest as it started to ring.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Tala went off the second Ray answered.

"I'm fine… What's going on?" Ray asked quickly.

"Aside from the fact that you're still gone, and we haven't heard from you since six this morning?" Tala asked sarcastically with a bite in his tone, he had never been so scared in his life.

"I told you I wasn't coming home last night, and I've been busy. I'm sorry." Ray said, sounding upset. "I'm actually on my way home right now, are you guys there?"

Tala bit into his lip, of course he'd be going home when they were being sent off.

"No, we had some work to do at the enterprise. Kain's at daycare." Tala shook his head, even if Ray couldn't see.

"Okay, I'll pick him up then." Ray said before a gasp left his mouth, the tires squealing through the phone and Tala's blood ran cold.

"Ray?! Ray are you okay, what happened?!" He fired into the phone, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

The other end of the phone went quiet for a minute before there was a deafening sound of an animalistic scream coming through along with a few curses from Ray, and the line being cut quickly.

"Ray… Ray?!" Tala yelled into the phone, pulling it from his ear and seeing the call had ended.

He shoved it back into his pocket and burst through the doors of the control room, eyes wild with fright as his heart was slamming into his chest.

"Valkov! What's the meaning of this?!" Roman fired off from his spot at the round table in the center of the room.

"Where's the attack happening!" Tala fired off, ignoring his question and Roman's eyes hardening.

"So far there has been activity in the lower districts, then there has been spikes to the west of here." Anette said, her voice cutting through the tension in the room as she gestured to the large screen on the wall that showed them where the attacks were happening on a map.

"Is everything okay, Tala?" She asked, turning back to look at him and caught the fear in his eyes. A very, barely there, twitch of her lips went up before her face softened.

"We have to go, now!" Tala fired at Kai, hardly seeing or hearing of any of them. "Ray is out there!"

Kai's heart came to a screeching halt as his breath hitched in his throat, his eyes going wide before his head snapped back to Roman and Anette.

"Two squads." Roman spat out.

"We don't have time to babysit!" Tala yelled, clenching his teeth and fists at his sides.

"And you don't have time to argue." Anette said coolly, meeting his eyes.

There was something there, in her eyes that he couldn't place at the moment, but he swallowed his next words and nodded.

"Take silver and red, they're already being prepped. Shoot to kill, we don't want any alive and that includes Feathers and Dickenson if they're there."

Kai and Tala swallowed their words again, Tyson had said Dickenson was dead and Tyson hadn't said if Brooklyn was actually working for the BBA. Once more they were being forced to chase their own tails it seemed, with the ever present question of why hanging over their heads.

They nodded, feeling like it was the only thing they could do at the moment and turned to get ready with the others. Sweeping out of the control room before they broke out into a run down the other room with the windows and hallway for the elevator.

"What happened?" Kai asked, having to stop and wait for the elevator.

"Sounded like he got into an accident, driving, but then I heard one of _them_ through the phone and he hung up." Tala answered, his voice shaking.

"Fuck." Kai breathed out heavily.

This was his fault, that Ray had stayed out all night and hadn't come home. If something happened to him…

"Hey, hey. Stop it, don't do that to yourself." Tala put a hand to Kai's shoulder, already seeing the thoughts raging through his head.

"We'll get to him; we'll keep him safe."

"And then he'll know about us, know about them…" Kai said in another breath.

"I think it's about time he did…" Tala breathed back, keeping his hand on Kai's shoulder just because they both needed it. "We weren't going to be able to hide it forever."

* * *

"You need to take cover!"

There was a round of shots through the air, the body of the Savaged Fusion slumping down on the ground behind Lee as it's skeletal wings shrunk around itself as it gurgled on it's blood that pooled from its mouth and the bullet hole in the center of its forehead.

Lee jumped, his senses going on overdrive with the sights and sounds and smells around him, having been focused on Ray since they had scrambled to get out of the car after it hit the fencing along the side of the road. The front end was dented, the airbag hadn't deployed, and Ray had a cut on his forehead that was trailing blood under his hairline and down the side of his face; from his head going into his steering wheel when the car hit the fence.

"And you should watch your back." Ray said as he lowered his arm, switching the now empty magazine of his gun with another one from the stash he had hidden in the false bottom in the truck of his car.

"Brooklyn will be here in a minute; I want you two to get who you can out of here and to safety." He commanded amongst the screams of the people around them without glancing back at Lee and Mariah.

She had come, despite her brother and Ray's protests, but he was slowly becoming grateful that she had. Their village was the safest spot, leaving them there would have been better for their safety, but he needed them right now. They had only been in Russia for the past hour and this was not how he had expected their first few minutes of being there going.

Already the streets were in a blood bath, the Savaged Fusions numbers only increasing as they seemed to practically fall from the sky. They had never seen so many with wings like this before, they were becoming outnumbered and waiting the twenty minutes for Brooklyn and a squad was going to be taxing. He hadn't been in the field for almost a year, luckily he could still hold his nerves back and work around the mayhem that was going on.

"And what of you?!" Lee growled out; all three of their pupils slit with the adrenaline rushing through their systems.

"I'll be fine, you do what I said and get going!" Ray yelled over the heavy rain of gunfire, hitting his targets that were coming down from the sky like fallen angels.

Their bodies hit the asphalt and concrete, their bodies spasming as they gurgled on their blood with their wings shrunk back into their backs. Those that fell were only replaced by more, coming down through the sky.

Lee ground his teeth together before his body disappeared into a blur of black light with Mariah's doing the same in a blur of vibrant pink, doing what he had been commanded to do and why they had come from the village to start with. Even if this wasn't how they had expected their first day to be like, they had hardly any time to be prepped on what was really going on; all they knew was that Ray wasn't able to go back out into the field because he was pregnant again.

Ray kept his gun trained on the Savaged Fusions coming down the sky, with the overwhelming amount there were they blocked out any bit of the blue sky with their blackened out tar like bodies. Their skeletal wings outstretched, almost touching the ones beside the other, as their mouths opened at an inhuman width as they screeched into the air.

There was a heat rising in the air; one that he was familiar with, one that he feared. The same kind of heat that had left burns on his hands, had ended up being one of his biggest failures to date since this entire mess had started out.

He took in his surroundings, those he couldn't save already dead on the streets as other cars had crashed into each other or buildings and streetlamps. The people who didn't know what was going on were up in a panic, scrambling to get away before they got caught by one of the Savaged Fusions; not all were lucky.

There had never been an attack like this, in the broad light of day. How the government was going to hide this, he really didn't care at this point. Highland was the start, the first attack that had happened during the day. The Savages were acting out, on what he wasn't sure. He had been left to believe they couldn't think, couldn't act out aside from the sheer need to destroy; exactly how Voltaire and Boris would have programmed them to be. This time though, he wasn't even sure if they were the ones pulling the strings this time.

The smell of blood in the air, the drying air from the heat, made bile rise in his throat that he had to shove down. If it wasn't for the pregnancy he wouldn't be having that kind of reaction, he was used to this type of carnage. It hadn't bothered him for a long time, this wasn't his first time having to see this and be in this type of mess.

It was why he had agreed to be fused with Driger in the first place, sealed his fate in a way he wished it hadn't at times. There was no backing out, he was far too gone for that type of thinking now.

For a reason unknown to him, the Savaged Fusions seemed intent on keeping their focus on him since he had come out of the car and he was going to use that to his advantage. Draw them away from the people still trying to find cover, while very far off in the distance he could hear the sounds of sirens coming their way.

"You want me?" He taunted, grabbing another gun from inside his stash from the trunk of his car.

His voice, still unknown as to why, seemed to draw their attention as they hovered in the air, circling around him. Their blackened tarred mouths opened again, at an inhuman width, as a noise pierced his hearing and the drying air.

"Well c'mon then!" He faltered for a second, the noise making his ears ringing as he stepped around the back of his car.

Although they had no actual eyes, it was like he felt them all on his every move. Having to go slow, he didn't know what they would do if he used his enhanced speed to get out of there and he didn't want to lose them or their sudden interest in him.

It had been eighteen months since he had come face to face with these creatures, maybe that's what it was. They sensed something in him? They were alike, in a way, but even still that didn't answer any of his questions. According to those that were in the field, doing what he should have been doing all along, they never acted like they held onto any shred of humanity in them. Yet, there they were, watching him intently. As if in waiting.

Being focused on the ones that were hovering in the air, watching him, he failed to see the ones he had already brought down with a bullet between the eyes. Slowly the skeletal wings that had shrunk around their blackened bodies shot outward, to their full length, as they pushed themselves up off the ground where they had hit in a clumped mess of themselves.  
At the noise coming from them his golden eyes shifted from the hoard in the sky to the ones standing, rising up from the dead like a pack of zombies from a movie.

Bile shot up into his throat, this time unable to hold it back, that he choked on it. Spitting it out as he tried to not look away, still walking slowly back down the street as the Savaged Fusions followed forward after him in their own slow pace; waiting again. For what, he still wasn't sure.

He needed to get them out of there, away from the hysterics of the crowd and the sirens that were steadily approaching them. His legs itched to run, use his speed to get the hell out faster.

His arm raised, the grip on his gun tight, as he fired at the first three that were closest to him. Their bodies dropped; the others screamed something out as the gunfire rang through the air as the heat that had followed them rose in the air higher.

The mid-February chilly air became warm, almost making him sweat as the heat seemed to reach outwards towards him. There was a fear in him, getting taken back to that night eighteen months ago back in Orlando. It was too similar, but memories of that night were almost a blur to him. He couldn't remember if there were creatures like this, this highly advanced, that night. With the heat reaching closer, feeling his skin burning as if he was coming face to face with a roaring inferno, he shot backwards quickly.

His body being taken over by a green light, ending up halfway down the street and the second the Savaged Fusions no longer saw him where he had been a second ago, their mouths opened and they screamed into the air again before they shot after him through the air. Those that had risen to their feet charged after him the sound of their bare, blackened and tarred feet, hitting across the heated concrete for him.

Steeling his nerves, Ray fired into the hoard as they rushed him. Hitting them between the eyes, the bodies dropping to the ground and being ignored by the others still upright.

Sweat trailed down his face, the cut on his forehead still dripping with blood that had ran down the side of his neck and soaked into the collar of his shirt. His finger pulling the trigger of his gun rapidly till it clicked, having used up all that was in there and he still had twenty Savages rushing at him and edging closer. Those that had hit the ground slowly pulled themselves back up onto their feet, the bullet wounds healing by the tar like substance that pulled into itself; like it was alive, until the wounds were closed completely and the blood that had ran down their faces seeped into the tar.

If this had been his first time, he would have been shaking uncontrollably. Though, his movements were fast and fluid, no hint of broken nerves as he exchanged magazines again into the gun in his hand. Instead of the one bullet for one Savage, he used two in each one as they came hurling down the road. Knocking them back to the ground, only a few feet away now they still came after him as the sirens became more deafening from behind him.

There were thirty to forty Savages, having used two bullets and wasting the fifteen two at a time, he barely made a dent in the hoards size before he was left without any ammunition again and they were closer. The heat seeping from them reaching him again, making him sweat harder as he choked on the drying air.

He wasn't like some of the others; he didn't have hardened skin like Tyson, didn't have the powers of Driger at his fingertips like Lee did with Galeon, or Brooklyn with Zeus. He had speed, heightened senses, and that was it and for that, he was screwed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Took ya'll back in time again for this whole chapter, sorry if you were wanting to get back into the action but I'm having some trouble in figuring out exactly what I want to do for all of that. So, here you go! Hope you enjoy the 'flash back' and all the new info. **

**Please ignore the mistakes, this took me forever to write and I just don't have the energy to go through it all to correct anything. I'm lazy...**

**Thank you everyone who has come in and left me your reviews, it's really helped me keep going with this story. Without those, I wouldn't have the motivation to keep getting these out as fast as I have been. **

**Hope ya'll enjoy this one, no warnings for it. **

* * *

**Three Years Ago: **

"I'll call you back in a few hours, if that's alright? We can talk about it some more." Ray asked, sounding unsure of himself for a minute.

"Sounds good." Kai smiled, a genuine one as his heart slowed it's fast rhythm it had been doing through the phone call.

He hadn't expected Ray to have called him, but he was glad that he had. It had been a month, one long agonizing month since that night after Dickenson's reunion party. He missed him, missed talking to him like they used to and he had been afraid that it was _he_ who had screwed everything up between them.

"Okay…" Ray's voice trailed, as if he wasn't sure what else to say.

Kai's smile turned into a soft smirk, "Okay." He replied back, the phone going silent for a minute or two.

"Ray." Kai called to him, hoping he was still there and hearing Ray suck in a breath.

"Yeah?" His voice trembled slightly.

"Bye." Kai's voice came out softly, the smirk trying to tug higher.

"Bye." Ray spat back quickly before the click of the line went, the call being ended.

Kai breathed out a heavy breath himself, setting his phone down on the top of his desk where he was sat in his study. Tala was perched up to his right on the corner of his desk, his legs idly swinging as he had waited for the call to end.

"Do you think I scared him off?" He asked quietly.

Kai shook his head a little, "No, I just think he's trying to still process it and over think it like he always does."

"Least he called you, that's a plus." Tala said, sounding happier now as he felt the shift in the air change around them.

"It's a matter of him calling back now." Kai said as he frowned.

The mood for Tala might have gotten better, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that told him not to hold out too much hope that Ray would call him back at all.

Tala went quiet for a second, running through what he wanted to say to him now as Kai looked like he had just gotten his heart ripped out all over again.

"Why didn't you ask him, when you had the chance before?" He inquired; it had always been a thought he had at the back of his head.

He never considered himself the second option, he knew what Kai had felt for Ray when they got together two years ago and he had accepted it. Kai loved him, he knew that, and it was his idea to try and give him the best of both worlds.

Kai glanced up at him, his index finger tracing the rim of his glass of scotch that sat near him.

"You really want to know?"

Tala shrugged his shoulders, "I wouldn't have asked, if I didn't want to know."

Kai took in a breath, letting it out slowly as his finger continued to trace the rim of his glass. "It's simple, and don't take this the wrong way like I know you will." He said, holding Tala's eyes for a second before they drifted back to his finger on his glass.

"He deserved someone better, someone who could have given him a better life than what I had to offer." He answered quietly, knowing Tala could hear him anyways.

"How am I _not _supposed to take that the wrong way?" Tala frowned while a red brow rose up into his hairline

"Because you're not listening, you're butting in like you always do." Kai scoffed quietly, shaking his head.

Tala's eyes rolled slightly, "Alright, fine. Continue."

"When we were a team that first year, I didn't have my memories of the Abbey. Not until we were there at least. I had forgotten about everything they had ever done to me, _us_, that for the longest time I believed I could have as a normal life as I possibly could once the championships were over. Until I learned the truth, until I remembered everything they had ever done to me.

"You know what it is, you understand it. Ray, there's no way he'd understand it. And there wasn't a way for me to control it if something went wrong at that time. You could stop it, _me_, where he wouldn't be able to. I'd risk losing him, or hurting him in the end if I lost control."

Tala's other brow rose to meet the other in his hairline. "So, why now?"

"Because I've been able to control it now, before it was too much of a gamble to even try. I wasn't going to risk his life just because I was some love-struck teenager. I needed to mature, grow with it and harness it best I could." Kai explained as he finally looked up again, meeting Tala's eyes again where he sat on the corner of his desk.

"I don't think you've matured at all, to be honest." Tala grinned at him.

"Why do I bother telling you anything?" Kai asked in a huff, though his own grin came to his lips.

"Because you love me." Tala nudged his knee with his leg.

"Hn, it's good thing I do then." Kai said as he picked up his glass, taking a quick drink of the bronze liquid and letting it burn the inside of his mouth before getting it down.

"You said it, without me you wouldn't have been able to control it."

Kai shook his head, setting his glass back down where he had picked it up from. "I don't think I said that, but you're right. I don't think I would have been able to without you…" He said with a fondness to his tone.

"This is still a gamble though, you know." Tala said, nodding down at Kai's phone beside his empty glass.

"It's why I'm hoping he won't call back…" Kai breathed out.

"Then why did you message him at all?" Tala questioned, looking confused for a minute.

"Because I love him… As you so elegantly told him last month." Kai said dully.

Tala grinned again, the corners of his mouth reaching ear to ear. "You're welcome."

Kai rolled his eyes, the mood dropping in him again. "As you also said, it's still a gamble…"

"So tell him, lay it out on the table for him to decide."

Kai shook his head, his stomach twisting at just the idea of doing something like that. "I don't want anyone to know, if somehow word got out we'd be thrown back into those tanks to be lab rats again and I don't want to put you through that."

"And what if one day I'm not here and something goes wrong?" Tala asked almost harshly.

Kai went quiet at that, unsure of what to say suddenly as he studied Tala's face for a second. "I thought you wanted me to do this?"

"I do." Tala started, before his hand started to wave in the air slightly as if he was trying to swat a fly away from his face.

"I honestly don't care what you want to do, since I hate seeing you like this. And, the plus side is I get to have both of you again at some point." He finished in a teasing tone.

Kai rolled his eyes before they landed back onto his phone, "That's _if_ he calls back." He was speaking to Tala, but with his eyes and focus on his phone it was more as if he was talking to his phone instead.

"He will." Tala said confidently, before his own mood finally got dragged down. "And if he doesn't, then maybe it just wasn't meant to be." He shrugged.

Kai nodded, he didn't like that idea but what more could he do about it but wait it out and see. "I have some papers to fill."

"Okay, it'll keep you busy while you wait at least." Tala jumped off the corner of his desk, tilting Kai's head back as he bent down to kiss him.

Kai kissed him back, hard, holding it for as long as he could until Tala pulled away to breathe.

"I'll see you at dinner." Tala smirked getting one back before he wandered out of the study, shutting the door behind him to leave Kai to his privacy and thoughts like he knew he wanted.

Kai shifted back into his chair, running a hand through his bangs as he picked up his phone again and unlocked it. Going to the text messages that he had kept all this time between him and Ray, scrolling through them as his heart slammed into his chest again.

What they had, before that night, would have been enough for him a long time ago. Though he had always wanted more, but hadn't wanted to risk Ray's safety because of what had happened to him before they had even met. He wouldn't have understood, wouldn't have been able to help him the way Tala had. In a way he had always wanted, needed, both of them and he had just happened to get lucky that Tala didn't care that he might have to share.

Tired of scrolling through the past he sat his phone back down, turning his computer on as he really did have paperwork to go through. Being a CEO of a large enterprise had finally caught up to him, it wasn't what he had wanted to do but Voltaire had shoved it onto him when he turned eighteen. He hadn't heard from him in almost two years, not that he was complaining any. It left him to do what he wanted with the company now without his grandfather breathing down his neck like he had been at the start, it didn't matter what he had done it was always wrong in Voltaire's eyes.

By the time his tired eyes peeled away from the screen of the computer it had already been three hours since he had talked to Ray, with no call back. He pushed himself away from his desk, needing the break and to stretch his legs for the time being as he grabbed his pack of smokes from the drawer in his desk and stepped outside into the December wintry air.

In week it would be Christmas, snow was already falling on the ground in his part of the world though he stepped outside without a jacket his body heat was enough to keep him from being cold thanks to Dranzer's powers rushing through his veins.

Tasting the fire on his tongue he blew into the back of his cigarette, the tip of it emitting a soft red glow before the smoke rose out as he inhaled slowly. As if by habit, and a bit of hope that he was still holding onto, he pulled out his phone as he sat on the iron bench by the front door of his home. There wasn't any notifications and even though he stared at the blank screen as if it were going to ring at any minute, it never did.

What little hope he had seemed to drain from him almost instantly as he tucked his phone back into his back pocket, sucking down his cigarette quickly before he forced himself to go back inside.

Tala leaned forward as Kai stepped through the foyer, not even sparing him a look as he took himself back to his study on the other side of the living room, Tala having watched him go quietly until the door shut and he leaned back into the leather couch with a sigh.

He hated this, how badly Kai was feeling over everything and the feeling of guilt for being the one that told him he was fine with the idea of a three-way relationship. All he had wanted to do, to be, was the man Kai deserved through all the hell they had endured when they were children back in the Abbey. Kai had already given him more than he could have ever asked for, he had just wanted to return the favor and give him everything he wanted back. If that meant Kai wanted Ray too, then Tala was going to make sure he got him. One way or another.

* * *

There was a deafening ring that vibrated the walls and cold tiled floor as the middle tank began to drain of it's water, the glass door sliding down to allow Kenny and Max to get inside it and catch hold of Ray as his body lowered with the water and before it slumped forward and fell out of the tank.

Max gripped the soaked man by the waist as Kenny went around the two, unhooking the wires and pulling out the thick tubing they had stuck into Ray's arms and back leaving behind large round marks where they had been pierced into him. Blood trickled from the marks, getting washed with the remaining water dripping down his body as Max pulled him against his chest tighter as he could feel Ray take in his first breath of real air once his oxygen mask had been removed.

"I gotchya buddy, just hold on and we'll get you in bed." Max soothed as he could feel Ray's body starting to tremble against the cold air of the lab hitting his wet skin, the only thing covering him were a pair of shorts and a blindfold that had been placed over his eyes instead of his sunglasses.

Tyson had already been taken out minutes ago, giving Max enough time to carry him to his suite to come back down to get Ray and then doing the process again for Lee.

Everyone that had been there the first day was present, though there was a new face standing on the other side of Dickenson with Brooklyn standing at his normal spot.

Crimson eyes had watched everything intently as painted red lips held a smile through the entire process, from the men getting undressed and sedated to being poked and prodded until they passed out into a dreamless sleep inside the tanks that had filled with water.

In her hand she held a notebook, jotting down everything quickly and quietly. Their heart rates, their blood pressure and the system in which they operated everything. Emily had given her some data to add to her notes, since she had come in only three days ago as part of the Russian branch of the BBA that was still being prepared.

It had yet to be discussed who would be moving to that branch since they were still in the very early stages of the process itself, but she had her sights set on Ray in coming with her back to Russia despite Dickenson's protests.

"Is he good now Kenny?" Max asked quietly from within Ray's tank.

"Yes, he's good now Max. Just be careful laying him on his right side, that tubing moved during the filling process and seems to have torn a bit more." Kenny said, having been wrapping the wound he was talking about quietly.

"Will do Chief." Max said as he hoisted Ray's entire limp body effortlessly into his arms, holding him gently against his chest. The coat he wore getting soaked through from the water on Ray's skin.

"I'll be back in a minute to get Lee." He called over his shoulder, the elevator doors opening for him automatically and disappearing through them quietly.

Emily closed the tank Ray had been in back up, running it through it's cleaning process as it filled with steam. Going to the control pad on Lee's tank to start the draining process.

"Anette, would you like to come do this?" She called, shifting her round glasses on her face as she looked over her shoulder at the other woman.

"If you think I can." Anette smiled back at her, already closing her notepad and walking away from her spot beside Dickenson to where Emily was.

"Lead me through it though."

"Of course." Emily smiled back, happy to see another woman in her line of work.

Brooklyn shifted where he stood, his teal eyes hard on the back of Anette's head. There was something about her, what he wasn't sure yet but she made something in his stomach twist constantly whenever she looked at him. She didn't know about his abilities and he was intent on using that to his advantage when he could, he'd get whatever information he could get out of her one way or another.

Up on the floors that held their suites Max got Ray's door opened, leaving his blindfold on him for the time being as he carried him to the bedroom and laid him down on the bed for a second so he could grab towels from the linen closet.

Ray's head rolled slightly as a painful moan escaped him as feeling was slowly coming back to him, his empty stomach twisting but once more the urge to eat just wasn't there at the moment.

"Take it easy, you know the drill." Max called to him softly, being mindful of his hearing that was changing with the experiments.

"M-Max?" Ray called out weakly, his eyes cracking open behind his black blindfold and only seeing more darkness.

"I'm right here, going to get you dried and changed into some clean clothes. Kenny said to watch your right side though, that tubing pulled and ripped you open again."

Ray nodded, the movement slow and almost painful as he laid stiff on his bed. Soaking the sheets beneath him, knowing that Max would change them again once he was dry and changed himself.

"You hungry or anything?" Max asked as he gently put a towel to Ray's body, wiping him down carefully.

"I'm starving…" Ray answered in a hoarse voice, "I don't want to eat though…"

Max frowned, "I know, once it's all over that's all you'll want to do."

"You told me…"

"Did I?" Max asked in a more cheery tone, "I'm going to get these off of you now, okay?" Max warned, putting a towel over Ray to work underneath it. Save them both from being embarrassed.

"Kay…" In seconds his wet shorts were removed and replaced with clean, warm, ones.

"Gonna take you to the couch so I can change these."

"You should have been a nurse…" Ray said as his body was lifted off the bed, getting carried into the living room of the suite before getting gently laid onto the couch.

"Think you've told me that before too." Max said over his shoulder as he went back into the bedroom.

"Max… I… I need my phone…" Ray called to him, hearing him in the bedroom and changing his bed sheets.

Even through the pain, the haze in his head, that was one thing he remembered he needed to do. He didn't want Kai to think that he was avoiding him, he'd do his best to hold a conversation with him while he could though.

"Your phone?"

"I need to call." Ray groaned back, his head slumping down slightly from where it had been placed against the armrest of the couch. His chin touching his chest now.

"Who?" Max called back.

"Kai…"

Max paused for a second in getting the bottom sheet around the mattress, that was a bit of an unexpected answer but dropped the sheet to find Ray's phone nonetheless for him without another word.

"Here, it's already ringing." He grabbed Ray's hand, putting his phone into his limp hand and directing it to his ear for him.

"You knew my password?" Ray asked in a slightly strained voice, Max tilting his head back up onto the armrest for him.

"You gave it to me four days ago." Max chuckled, leaving him to it to finish the bed.

"I don't remember that." Ray called out to him just as Kai had answered.

"Don't remember what?" Kai asked in a tone that was slightly mixed with humor and apprehension.

"I don't know." Ray answered, a small smile coming to his lips because Kai had answered him. "Just know that I was supposed to call you."

"You okay? You sound… Off." Kai asked, his voice soft on the other end.

Ray made a small scoffing noise, rolling his tired eyes behind the cover of his blindfold.

"Been worse, but Max is taking care of me."

"Max?" Kai questioned, "What's he doing in your village?"

"Oh, I'm not in my village I stayed in Japan to-" Max snatched Ray's phone from his hand, putting it to his own ear.

"Hey, Kai. Sorry but Ray's kind of drunk at the moment…" He spat off the first thing he could think of at the moment.

"Drunk? It's three in the afternoon there." Kai didn't sound like he was buying it, "Is he okay, what's wrong that he'd be drinking so early?"

Max bit into his bottom lip, he knew he shouldn't have said Ray was drunk because of what time it was there but now he had just backed himself into a corner.

"Wish I was drunk… Be a lot better than this…" Ray mumbled quietly, lifting his heavy arm and putting it over his face as his body sunk deeper into the couch.

"He's just… You know got a lot going on. He's okay though, decided to stay with me for a while here in Japan."

"How long has he been in Japan?" Kai questioned and Max held in a small groan, this man asked way too many questions these days.

"He um… He never left, so a month now." Max answered, swatting Ray's hand that had reached out blindly and hit him a few times on the backside before gripping and tugging on his shirt.

"I wanted to talk to him…" Ray whined out.

Max rolled his eyes, muting the phone and turning to Ray. "Well then be quiet about why you're here, he's not supposed to know."

"Okay…" Ray held his hand out for his phone, "What do you want me to tell him?"

"You're drunk."

"But I'm not, I'm just in a lot of pain."

"Yeah, same thing." Max huffed putting the phone in Ray's hand and un-muting it. "All yours."

Ray gave him a small fanged grin, putting the phone back to his ear. "Hey, sorry about the interruption. But I should probably let you go since I can't really focus on anything."

"Ray… Are you okay?"

Ray felt tears sting his eyes, Kai's voice was so soft and caring. Full of concern, for him.

"Yeah…" He breathed out heavily, "I'll be alright."

He heard Kai swallow on the other end, as if he was suddenly nervous now. "I have to come to Japan actually, for a few meetings, if you're still there and want to get some dinner sometime…"

"Are you… Are you asking me out?" Ray asked, swallowing hard himself as his heart rate kicked up.

"Um… Yeah, kind of?" Kai answered, still sounding nervous.

"Oh… Sure, when are you going to be here?"

"Plane lands on the 23rd." Kai answered quickly, "Will be there till New Year's."

"Okay, I'll see you then…"

"Okay, bye…"

"Bye, Kai." Ray smiled as he heard the click on the end and released a heavy sigh, part of him not even sure what had just been said but for an unknown reason he felt happy for the first time in a month.

* * *

**December 23****rd****, Two weeks into the Fusion Process:**

Ray paced the living room of Tyson's suite as Tyson, Max, and Brooklyn sat on the couch and chair that were placed in there, watching him quietly as he had been pacing for almost an hour now since Kai had called and told him he was fixing to board his flight.

Since that call a week ago they hadn't really talked, Ray had ended up forgetting it even happened until he got the call an hour ago and was thrown into a slight panic. He hadn't been outside in two weeks, not amongst crowds or anyone outside of the BBA. For once Dickenson was letting them, for the holidays, but Ray hadn't really been planning to do anything for them.

He needed the rest; his body was still slowly getting used to Driger's powers being pumped through him every other day. They were on one of their 'rest' days, no experiments, no meetings, letting them just do what they wanted with the time given to them. Lee was in his suite doing just that, something he should be doing but instead was left panicking over Kai's arrival.

"Why didn't anybody tell me?" He questioned, running a hand through his bangs that framed his face.

Max shrugged, he was the one that was there when Ray had made the call and knew more about it. He had assumed that Ray wanted this, he understood that he'd be nervous but not to this extent.

"Thought this was what you wanted." He said with his shoulders coming down.

"N… Yes and no… He has Tala!"

"Nobody said you had to sleep with him, he's just wanting to see you." Tyson interjected quickly.

Ray froze from his pacing as his face warmed. Nobody knew what he had done a month ago and it was going to stay that way, and there was no way he was going to do it again. Even if he wanted to.

"I… I guess…" He stuttered, his pacing kicking back up. "But where do I tell him to pick me up?"

"I told him you were staying with me; pack some clothes and I'll take you back to my apartment." Max said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Ray nodded through his pacing, "It's a bad idea… I won't be able to take these off, and that's if I can even stand being outside for long." He gestured to the dark sunglasses on his face, his hand dropping at his side.

"He's going to ask questions, like he always does…"

"So, come up with something." Tyson suggested.

"You know Ray's not a very good liar." Max joked, bumping Tyson in the shoulder with his own.

Ray's lips turned up as if he was trying to smile, fighting it back as he stopped his pacing and turned to face Brooklyn who had been quiet through everything sitting on the armchair.

"You said once was enough for you." Brooklyn joked, already knowing why he was looking at him and folded his hands over his lap.

"I changed my mind." Ray stepped towards him, holding his hand out.

"You know I don't have control over what it is you'll see; you could be taken to three years from now or five minutes from now."

Ray shifted on his feet, putting his hand back down at his side. "Fine… I'll figure it out myself…" He huffed, stepping away from him to start his pacing again.

"Just tell him you wanted to stay for a bit longer, spend the holidays with us while you could. The sunglasses… Tell him you like them?" Tyson said, "I think you're just over thinking things."

"Like you _always_ do." Max chuckled.

Ray stopped pacing again, his brain running all over the place before he expressed a heavy breath and pulled at his bangs again from his face.

"I already slept with them…"

Tyson and Max rose a brow, "Them? What do you mean _them_?!" Tyson shouted out, his jaw dropping open.

"Them, as in Kai _and_ Tala."

"Well shit… Was it any good?" Tyson asked with a stupid grin on his face, getting elbowed hard in the side by Max.

"As good as I guess it could get… They wanted me to, they want me to… I guess be with them too?" Ray sighed, shaking his head.

"That's…" Tyson and Max blinked while Brooklyn wore a small smile.

"It's interesting." Max finished, "But you feel like you can't, because of the project. Right?"

Ray nodded, "How can I? How can I live with them, _be_ with them, when I'm changing into a literal weapon. And, it's because of Kai's grandfather?"

"If you're worried about hurting them, or something, because of those beings I showed you. Don't. As I said, that is not your fate." Brooklyn spoke up again, dragging everyone's attention to him.

"That's not what I'm worried about… I can't control everything yet; it comes in spurts and comes and goes. After I have everything from Driger, we're supposed to train."

"Who's to say we won't be able to still train? Tyson has his life, outside of this, why can't you?" Brooklyn asked in a soft tone.

"Because Hilary knows, Dickenson doesn't want them to know." Ray countered.

"What do you want?" Max asked.

Ray shrugged, "I've always wanted him… But…"

"Then just do it, to me it sounds like they want you too." Max cut him off quickly, "Brooklyn is right, there's no reason you still can't train and do this. You'll just have to hide it from them."

"They live in Russia, I'm needed here." Ray argued.

"That's not true, there's the Russian branch being formed now. You could live there and still work for the BBA." Tyson jumped in next.

Ray sighed once more, they all had good points. There was still something though that told him not to, even if he desperately wanted to do it. There had been a rush to it, there had been love there between them. It would be hard, managing two lovers at once while also being the third wheel to what Kai and Tala had already established for two years.

If it didn't work, then he still could come back to Japan and have the life he was currently living. To try and prevent what Brooklyn had seen, and showed him, from happening. They had three years to act, that was plenty enough time to stop it and fight it. At least, he hoped.

"Alright…" He shrugged, more in defeat and not knowing what else to really do.

"Alright, let's get you packed and moved for the time being while he's here." Max jumped up from the couch, ready to help him.

Ray followed him out quietly, Brooklyn waiting a minute before he pushed himself up to leave Tyson to do what he needed since he was going to be going home to spend the holidays with Hilary.

Out in the hall the two were already gone back into Ray's room three doors down, Brooklyn taking himself to his own room further down the hall near the elevator when it opened and his teal eyes were met with crimson as Anette stepped out into the hall with him.

"There you are, I was wanting to talk to you about something." Anette said as she continued down the hall towards him until they met near his bedroom door.

"Me?" Brooklyn inquired.

"Yes, we're looking for potential candidates for going to the Russian branch once this is done here." Anette informed.

"You may get your wish, in having Ray being the first to join you there." Brooklyn said with a small smile on his fair lips, his head tilting ever so slightly to the left.

"Then again, that is for Dickenson to decide in the end."

"That's where I need your help, to convince him to let Ray come with me there." Anette said quickly.

Brooklyn nodded, looking her over a little. He had yet to figure her out, what her motive was and where she had come from. Every opportunity he had was snatched from him, now he had the opportune moment to get what he was looking for. All it would take was a simple touch and he would know but he didn't move, unsure why he felt like he suddenly shouldn't.

Anette snapped her fingers in his face as he looked like he had spaced out on her suddenly. "Hey, you in there?"

Brooklyn blinked at her, finding the gesture rather rude but smiled again and nodded all the same.

"I will do my best to convince him for you. May I ask why though? Why not Max or Tyson or even Lee?"

"Lee said he's going back to his village after this, Tyson is supposed to stay here and we need Max here for the next round." Anette answered, "Ray doesn't have a permanent place set yet, the only reason Dickenson wants him to stay here is because of the others."

"Very well, I'll do what I can." Brooklyn smiled and went to move past her, getting stopped by her grabbing his arm.

The two became frozen upon the contact, the color in Brooklyn's eyes blending within the white as Anette's did the same. Her hold on his arm getting tighter as her body tensed, her mouth falling open as the room beneath her feet felt as though it was moving on her suddenly and she couldn't pull away.

Two minutes was all it took before their bodies went back into working order, the color in their eyes returning and the two pulled away from each other quickly. Anette panting hard, her crimson eyes wild with fright as she watched Brooklyn slowly who put a hand to his forehead before turning to meet her eyes.

"It's you…"

A heat rose along Anette's skin quickly, her crimson eyes becoming alight with a fire behind them as small flames began to grown in the palm of her hand. Brooklyn quickly rose his hands up, stepping away from her.

"It is not my intention to stop you."

Anette arched a dark-blue brow, the flames in her hands sucking themselves back in until they dispersed as the heat that was slowly reaching out returned to her body.

"What's your game?" She hissed out.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Brooklyn smirked, it sending a chill to run down Anette's spine, opening the door to his suite and stepping inside quietly with the door closing behind him without looking back at her.

* * *

**December 24****th****: **

"How do I look?" Ray asked as he held his arms out as his side, showing off his outfit that he had picked out.

Kai had landed in Japan the night before, needing the rest he had gotten a hotel room not too far off in the city that was close to Max's apartment. He had called less than thirty minutes ago, letting Ray know that he was now free from meetings for the rest of the night and wanted to take Ray out so they could talk and catch up.

Ray had moved in temporarily with Max for the time being, needing to keep his other life in the BBA a secret. His nerves were trying their hardest to work against him, having rushed through almost all his clothes to find something to wear and be presentable enough for what he considered a 'date'. His first real, proper, date with Kai and just him for which Ray was glad. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to handle the two of them if Tala had come along, even if he was somewhat disappointed that Tala hadn't come.

"You look fine, Ray." Max sighed with a roll of his eyes, having once again sat through a sudden wardrobe change from his temporary roommate.

Ray's arms fell, hitting his sides, with a sigh. Fine, he looked _fine_?! Max saw the look, even if he couldn't see Ray's eyes behind his sunglasses.

"He's not going to care what you're wearing, as long as he can get it off quickly." Max joked.

Ray's face went red instantly as he choked on his spit, "Don't say stuff like that! That's not even going to happen!" His voice cracked.

"Uh huh…" Max grinned, knowing that would rile him up but it was better than seeing him freaking out over whatever it was that was going through his head again.

It took all of his self-restraint from strangling Ray the past two days. He had never seen him so overworked, especially since he had already slept with Kai and Tala a month ago. Why he was flipping out over a simple dinner date was beyond him at this point, wanting to just kick Ray out the door and bolt it shut until Kai left Japan.

Ray's mouth opened to say something when his phone started to ring, cutting him off effectively as he pulled it out to answer.

"Hey."

"I'm outside, if you're ready." Kai said.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a second." Ray hung up, figuring that was all he needed to do and put his phone back into his back pocket. Making sure he had his wallet and went to get his shoes on by the door.

"You kids have fun now!" Max called through the apartment.

Ray ignored him, pulling on his shoes and left without a word. His heart slamming hard against his chest as his stomach flipped and twisted violently, making his way down the four flights of stairs to the ground floor and through the metal gate onto the sidewalk outside.

He blinked a few times; it was night out but the streetlamps and headlights stung his eyes for a second before he adjusted to it. Kai's rental was parked on the side of the road, walking up to it he slipped into the passenger seat and sat back for a minute. Still blinking rapidly behind his blackened out sunglasses, trying to get the sting to go away as his eyes filled with tears.

"You okay?" Kai asked, feeling his breath catch in his throat.

He hadn't seen him in a month, Ray always looked good but now there seemed something different about it him. He looked like he had been working out, his shoulders were wider and even through the heavy thick coat he was wearing Kai could see his arms had also gotten thicker. Then there was the question of the sunglasses he was wearing at night.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Ray nodded, knowing that Kai was fixing to start a round of twenty questions and decided to cut him off first.

"Where're we going?"

"Oh, um it's a surprise." Kai smirked, pulling the car out onto the road to take them off to their destination.

Ray just nodded, trying his best to slow his heart down from it's frantic pumping. He knew he shouldn't have been nervous, but he was, and wished to God that he wasn't.

"You look good." Kai's voice dragged him back to the car and what was going on, having been dozing off with the movement of the vehicle as they followed the nighttime traffic.

"You too." Ray blushed, finally actually looking Kai over.

He did look good, like always, which wasn't really a surprise. At least Kai hadn't overdone it on the cologne, otherwise he would have been holding his breath being in a small enclosed space with him.

The car ride to wherever it was that Kai was taking him to was marred by a silence, although it was more welcomed at the moment than awkward, with the occasional side glance from one or the other that was quickly shifted the second the one felt the other looking. Slowly, blushes kept creeping along the bridge of their nose, either from staring too long or almost getting caught.

Twenty minutes down the road from Max's apartment they arrived at a more high-end restaurant, Ray quickly looking down at himself and feeling way under dressed for such a place but followed Kai out once the car was parked and followed him again into the building.

Ray's nose curled, holding down from gagging on the overwhelming smells of other people and the food that hit him the second they stepped through the doors. He felt nauseous almost instantly, though his empty stomach twisted with hunger like it always did and he just hoped he'd be able to actually eat for once.

They were seated within minutes, getting a small table next to a large window that overlooked the road and sidewalk outside. Amongst the chatter, barely audible for most, was the soft sounds of a classical song playing through the speakers. Giving off the calm, serene, atmosphere with the low lighting that was set in the building. To Ray, he could hear everything clearly to almost the point it was deafening; just another enhancement from Driger that he needed to learn to get accustomed to.

Being cooped up in the walls of the BBA wasn't doing him any favors, this was his first real time being outside and among other people and the sights, smells, and sounds, were overwhelming.

"You okay?" Kai asked, having seen him tense across from him the second they sat down.

"Mhmm, yeah…" Ray nodded, trying to focus on Kai's voice through the others surrounding him all at once. His ears burning almost as badly as his eyes, thankful for the low lighting in the place that seemed to take a bit of the edge off.

"How did your meeting go?" He asked, trying not to shout at him.

"Well enough, still have to stay until the first." Kai answered as he picked up the menu that had been given, his crimson eyes raking down the selections quietly.

"Why did you stay here in Japan?" He asked without looking up, knowing Ray was looking through his own menu.

"Just wasn't ready to say goodbye yet, you know. Been too long since the last time I saw the others, and Hilary is due in a few more months."

Kai made a noise, shaking his head slowly. "Out of everyone, it's Tyson that's becoming a father first."

"You jealous?" Ray smirked, the two still not once looking up at the other through their conversation.

"I don't want kids." Kai said quickly.

"What about Tala?" Ray asked, his stomach twisting and wondering if it was the appropriate time to tell him about his unique ability or not.

Kai shrugged, "He's talked about adopting, surrogacy, but that's all he's ever done. I wouldn't really consider us parent material."

"I think you two would make wonderful parents." Ray said as he glanced over the rim of his menu, once more feeling a blush spread along his face as Kai had already been looking up at him.

Kai cleared his throat a little, his own blush coming over his face faintly. "What about you?"

"Would depend, but I've always wanted a few kids of my own." Ray answered quietly, settling on what he wanted to eat finally and set his menu down.

"Would depend on who my partner is though I guess."

Kai rose a brow, "Like if they wanted kids?"

Ray nodded a little, his stomach twisting again. "Well there's that, but um… It's kind of hard to explain, kind of impossible in a way in the terms of regular human biology…" He started, having to stop as their waiter came up to the table.

Quickly they gave off their orders, getting their drinks and Ray was more than happy to have some type of liquor in his system for the time being to calm his nerves. Emptying the glass almost in one go.

"What do you mean?" Kai broke the silence that had seemed to loom long after the waiter had come and gone.

Ray swallowed his mouthful of sake, setting the cup down as he took in a deep breath.

"Easiest way to explain it, I guess, is that Gary is a father."

Kai's brow rose higher, that didn't sound that odd. "Congratulations to Gary?"

"And so is his partner." Ray added.

"So… They adopted?" Kai questioned.

Ray shook his head, "No, their daughter is biologically theirs. It's a… A thing our kind can do."

Kai's eyes widened slightly as he slowly put the pieces together, "You…" He stopped, looking around before leaning across the table closer.

"You're meaning to tell me, that _you_ can get pregnant?"

Ray nodded as he poured himself some more sake, throwing back the glass and setting it down.

"I can."

Kai sat back into his chair, staring at him for a minute as he worked through what Ray had just told him before he shrugged.

"Well, Tala will be happy to know that. Saves us some money."

Ray about choked on his drink, "I'm sorry?!" He sputtered, his face as red as the tablecloth.

Kai smirked a little, "Did you forget, that's why I'm here."

"You said it was for work."

"I do have work, but I also came to see if you thought about what we propositioned to you last month." Kai stated in a calm tone, sounding like he was back in a meeting with his company.

"I… I have…" Ray said, his voice going quieter again as he sat his cup back down on the table and pushed it away from him a little.

Kai stopped him, holding a hand up and Ray's mouth closed. "Tell me later, not now. Wait until I have to go back, then you can give me your answer."

Ray gave him a curious look, but he figured that would only be fair because he honestly didn't have an answer yet for him.

"Okay."

Once their meal arrived they finally relaxed around the other, Kai still ever curious about the sunglasses but never openly questioned them throughout dinner which lasted longer than either had anticipated as neither had really stopped talking about one thing or another. Just to hold out from having to say goodbye, to wait for the next day to come around before they could see each other again.

Finally they had to get up and leave as the place was closing down, being the last two to leave aside from the workers there. The alcohol that had been consumed between them had worn off by the time they got to the car. Despite not wanting to let him go yet, Kai took Ray back to Max's apartment and like the good date he was he walked him up the stairs all the way to Max's door.

"Thank you, for dinner and all." Ray said, becoming frozen outside Max's front door and not because of the cold December night air.

"You're welcome, if you want to come with me again just let me know."

"I'd like that…" Ray smiled a little, damning the blush coming to his cheeks. "That is, if _you_ want my company again."

Kai smirked a little, "Night Ray."

"Night." Ray breathed out as Kai turned away from him, watching him disappear around the wall and hearing his heavy footsteps on the concrete stairs before the close of his car door down on the street.

Turning back to the door he knocked on the wood, waiting for a minute or two for Max to come and unlock it. He didn't have a spare to give him, had told him he'd be up late enough going over data that he'd be able to let him in but the longer Ray stood outside the more apparent it became that Max wasn't even home.

He hadn't noticed it at first but he couldn't hear him through the door, his heart sunk into his gut quickly but he didn't feel like becoming a frozen human popsicle waiting for him to come home all night. Grabbing his phone he pulled up Kai's number.

"I know this sounds weird, but can I come stay with you for the night? Max left and I don't have a key to get in…"

"It's one bed."

"We've shared beds before…" Ray said dully into the phone, rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses. "I really don't want to freeze out here."

"A kitty cat popsicle." Kai mused, "I'm still down here."

Ray figured that was his confirmation, hanging up and hurrying himself down towards the stairs. In a blink of his own eyes he was already two flights down, stopping himself and blinking a few times at the green light that had followed him in a trail before it faded off into the night like it hadn't even been there.

His heart stopped before it kicked back up. That had never happened to him before. Was that from him, or from Driger? He wasn't sure, he could only hope it didn't happen again around Kai.


	10. Chapter 10

**Welcome back! This chapter is a bit all over the place, I apologize for that. Hopefully the breaks don't mess up too badly with the flow of the story all that much. We're back to present time, so to speak, hope ya'll enjoyed that flash back and we'll get back to that again at some point here while also finally getting to see what happened in Orlando.  
**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

**Eighteen Hours Ago:**

"Everyone doing okay?" Ray asked, the breeze hitting him again as it swept past the two of them.

"For the most part. Brooklyn is sleeping, which is normal for him after something like this and the bleeding has stopped."

Ray nodded, "Where's Anette?"

"She left; nobody has seen her since the first round of trials." Max answered, his heart stopping as Ray spun around on the edge of the rooftop and only breathed easy when he hadn't fallen off.

"And who the hell told her she could leave?! We're on a lock down!"

"Fuckin hell…" Ray growled, jumping off the edge of the rooftop and went to his work phone to call her.

"Brooklyn didn't check her." He muttered angrily, shaking his head.

"Do you want to send someone out?" Max asked, hoping Ray would calm down some. It wasn't good for him to be stressed like this while pregnant again, he had been put on bed rest with Kain because he kept insisting in coming into work and they didn't need a repeat of that.

Ray waited as the phone rang in his ear, only for him to let a feral sounding noise come from within his throat as his call had gone unanswered. His pupils slitting to fine points, as he gripped his phone in his hand tighter.

"I'll go after her."

"Ray…" Max stepped up to stop him, though before he could Ray wasn't where he had been standing last as a green blur of light shot past him and the wind swept past him in the opposite direction it had naturally been blowing before.

"I hate it when you do that…" Max grumbled under his breath, quickly pulling out his own phone.

He barely had to say a word when Brooklyn's cut through the other end, "We got him, right before he made it out the front doors."

"Alright, I'm on my way back down." Max sighed as he hung up, pocketing his phone into his jeans and taking himself to the stairs that Ray had just gone down in the blink of an eye earlier.

It didn't take him long to guess where they had put his boss, his friend, and he chose right when going to Ray's office where he was sat in his chair brooding. Glaring at everyone who was there, with his arms crossed over his chest and his pupils slit. Max would have laughed, if he didn't fear for his life and kept it down as he closed the doors behind him and wedged himself between the two guards to get inside where Brooklyn and Kenny were already sitting at the large round table in the center of the room.

"You didn't check her." Ray growled at the red-head who looked rather smug at the moment.

"But I did." Brooklyn answered with a calm tone, "It wasn't her; it wasn't anyone here in this branch. I suggest we contact America and Japan again, see if maybe someone over there has figured out where the leak came from."

Ray sighed with an eyeroll, "I already did that, Judy and Emily say that it happened here!" He bit out as his pupils got thinner, "Are you sure you checked everyone?"

"I am sure, unless you want me to try again." Brooklyn asked in a tired voice.

Ray shifted in his chair as the room got quiet for a minute, "No… No I don't want to put that much strain on you again." He said in his own tired voice, "Lift the ban, everyone can go home."

Everyone in the room nodded to him, the two guards leaving to go spread the word around and just leaving the other four in there alone.

"I'm going to stay here for the night, you three can go home." Ray huffed as he pulled his arms from around himself and went to some files on his desk that had been brought in by Kenny, detailing all who in his branch of the BBA had been compromised.

"If you need anything, call me." Max said in his own tired voice, getting himself up from his chair as Ray just nodded to him.

"Just be careful out there."

"You too." Max said over his shoulder, already on his way out of the room to go home.

Kenny followed after him quietly, he wasn't going home but to make sure the serum they had been working on was coming along the way it should be one last time before he had to go home. Brooklyn stayed in his chair, watching Ray quietly for a while more until he stood up and took the file he had been looking at away from him.

"You need rest."

"I'll rest when this is done, now hand it over." Ray held his hand out for the file, giving Brooklyn a dull look without a bite in his tone or a hardness in his eyes. He was just tired, of a lot of things.

"You'll need to be up early to pick up Lee from the airport in the morning, go rest." Brooklyn tried again, closing the file and putting it behind his back.

"You're starting to sound like Tala. I'm fine, I'm not even tired." Ray said in time with a yawn.

Brooklyn gave him an amused look for a second, before his face softened and something in his eyes changed a little as he looked down at him.

"I wonder why that is." He said softly, the look in his eyes staying even with Ray's head quickly jerking back up to look at him with a brow raised.

Slowly Ray's face fell slightly, unsure what to say or do at the moment and cleared his throat a little as his heart flipped inside his chest in a way he hadn't expected it to.

"Sleep, now." Brooklyn spoke over him as Ray's mouth opened, sweeping out of the room before Ray had a chance to realize he had said anything at all to him and watched the door to his office close.

Putting both his elbows on the top of his desk, Ray lent forward into the palms of his hands with another, deeper, groan as unwanted tears pricked in his eyes that he didn't even have an answer for. The last thing he had suspected from Brooklyn was that and now that he had it, he wasn't sure what to do with it suddenly.

After sitting like that for a short while he sat back, drying his face from the few tears that had escaped and pulled out his cellphone. His fingers hovering over the familiar number but unable to press it at the moment before just tossing his phone across the room with all the strength he had, watching it clank against the wall before falling to the carpeted floor with a soft thud in one piece.

* * *

What was once a large, pristine, and dark place was now left to rot away over the years. Pieces and parts of the walls that had survive the fires were left to crumble away through the harsh winters of years gone by, the foundation was solid and kept the better parts standing. The government didn't care for such a place anymore after it had been raided and torn apart, freeing the hundreds of boys from within it's stone walls and caged cells.

It had been burned down in places to get rid of it, only to still stand in some places. Those who knew the history of the place would come by at times and throw bottles and rocks at it's still standing, but deteriorating, walls over the barbed wire fencing that kept it closed off from the rest of the population.

There were of course the childish dares for someone brave, and stupid, enough to find a way through the fencing and enter such a haunted place. Some returned, others didn't but the police never looked into those disappearances because they feared for their own lives if they were to cross past through that fence.

On the charred remains of one of it's walls, a plague stayed up proud and true through the testament of time and all it had gone through. Balkov Abbey.

Outside it was a dark reminder of what had happened ten years ago, while deep down in the tunnels that had never been found it was the start of something new. Something grand and even more sinister than what it had been originally used for.

Heels clacked in a hasty fashion down the metal staircase, strings of lights were held up on the ceiling above to bring some light into such a dark and dampened place. The air smelled strong of mold and was thick with moisture with a chill to it, yet the heat that surrounded her body like a blanket kept the chill at bay.

Reaching the bottom floor, coming through the back door from one of the still standing wings of the Abbey, Anette promptly turned on her heel for the first set of metal doors and stepped through. Commanding the room with her presence alone, the heat staying around her like her own bubble but was not unnoticeable by the ten others in the room she had come into.

"We are moving to Phase Delta." She spoke with an air of authority as her crimson eyes swept around the room at the stunned faces.

One brave soul came away from his computer he had been on, standing up from where he had been sitting and wiped his brow nervously.

"They are still unstable." His shaky voice informed.

Anette's crimson eyes shifted to him and him alone, a fire behind them as the heat that had clung around her started to grow outward as she stepped up to him past the other rows of computers. Those she passed wheeled away on their chairs, feeling the air around them get hotter and their own skin starting to sweat a little.

"Did I ask if they were ready?" Anette asked as she came to stand toe-to-toe with the now shaking man.

"No… No ma'am." He choked on the drying air, the heat acting like it was reaching out and touching his skin like a gentle hand that seared his skin even under the sleeve of his lab coat.

"Then, release them." Anette spoke with an icy undertone to her voice, the fire in her crimson eyes blazing brighter.

"Yes. Yes ma'am." The man swallowed in an attempt to quench his drying throat, nodding feverishly as he stepped back to his computer quickly to get away from the heat.

Anette smiled as she stepped back, the heat recoiling back into her own space as she walked the length of the room to the back where another set of two metal doors stood. Pushing them open as she went, those in the room she left behind her getting to work in putting in through the next phase.

In the new room she had come into there was a desk in the corner with a computer, the room almost cut in half where the wall across from the doors was nothing but one large pane of glass that overlooked a pit like room. Through the glass that she could look through without being seen from the other side, flocks of tarred bodies and skeletal wings were in a frenzy of sorts inside the pit.

Some of the Savages were crawling along the stoned walls, others resting at the very bottom where she could not see them, while their shrieks and cries shook the room itself.

"Now, now children that's quite enough." Anette cooed from her desk, her voice coming through a speaker inside the pit that calmed the Savages and their cries.

With the room quiet she turned on her computer, the first thing to appear on the screen were the files from BBA that had been leaked out to Bryan and she quickly shut them down away from her before going to a video messenger app off the toolbar of her computer. Within a few minutes Roman's face appeared on the screen, his eyes hard for a minute until they softened slightly at seeing her face.

"What is it?" He barked.

Anette leaned back into her chair with a smirk on her lips, "We're moving to Phase Delta, expect an attack within a few hours."

"Delta?! You told me those beasts weren't ready yet!" Roman shouted back, his eyes quickly darting up over his camera as if he was looking to see if anyone was around him.

"I'm up to my neck in these damn attacks Saisei, when will we be near the end here?" He asked in a lower tone with a bite to it.

"As soon as I have my baby." Anette responded coolly, twirling a dark-blue strand of hair around her finger. "I'm in no need of Kon anymore, he's done his part. The new one is Valkov's mutt, you can do what you want with him."

"How many this time?" Roman asked with a huff.

"Two, one in the lower district and one to the west of HQ. Kon will be picking up Wong in a few hours here, expect the attack around then and that's where Delta will be." Anette explained in that same, calm and unnerving tone of hers.

"And this will be the last?" Roman asked.

"Until I have my baby Roman." Anette reminded, "I'll be there in a few hours, when I arrive it'll be thirty minutes before the attacks happen. Have your normal dribble of men ready, whatever you must do to save face." She waved off as if she was talking about the weather.

"Anything else?" Roman asked, though he looked like he really didn't care.

Anette tapped her chin with her index finger for a second, mocking him in a way and he knew that but couldn't do a thing about it. He had a debt to pay, what she commanded went and his hands were tied because of it.

"Not at the moment no, if something crosses my mind I'll let you know though." She smiled at him and ended the call before he could say anything back.

* * *

**Present Time:**

"Where's the attack happening!" Tala fired off, ignoring his question and Roman's eyes hardening.

"So far there has been activity in the lower districts, then there has been spikes to the west of here." Anette said, her voice cutting through the tension in the room as she gestured to the large screen on the wall that showed them where the attacks were happening on a map.

"Is everything okay, Tala?" She asked, turning back to look at him and caught the fear in his eyes. A very, barely there, twitch of her lips went up before her face softened.

"We have to go, now!" Tala fired at Kai, hardly seeing or hearing of any of them. "Ray is out there!"

Kai's heart came to a screeching halt as his breath hitched in his throat, his eyes going wide before his head snapped back to Roman and Anette.

"Two squads." Roman spat out.

"We don't have time to babysit!" Tala yelled, clenching his teeth and fists at his sides.

"And you don't have time to argue." Anette said coolly, meeting his eyes.

There was something there, in her eyes that he couldn't place at the moment, but he swallowed his next words and nodded.

"Take silver and red, they're already being prepped. Shoot to kill, we don't want any alive and that includes Feathers and Dickenson if they're there."

"What happened?" Kai asked, having to stop and wait for the elevator.

"Sounded like he got into an accident, driving, but then I heard one of them through the phone and he hung up." Tala answered, his voice shaking.

"Fuck." Kai breathed out heavily.

This was his fault, that Ray had stayed out all night and hadn't come home. If something happened to him…

"Hey, hey. Stop it, don't do that to yourself." Tala put a hand to Kai's shoulder, already seeing the thoughts raging through his head.

"We'll get to him; we'll keep him safe."

"And then he'll know about us, know about them…" Kai said in another breath.

"I think it's about time he did…" Tala breathed back, keeping his hand on Kai's shoulder just because they both needed it. "We weren't going to be able to hide it forever."

Kai nodded slowly, despite Tala's calming words it did nothing to stop the fear coming back through every one of his nerves. The elevator door finally opening up for them that they promptly ran inside of, hitting the button for the lower floor where the locker rooms sat.

They were quick to dress with the two squads they had been assigned with, the others already dressed out in their all black gear with heavy breast plates and masks. Kai and Tala barely spared them a look, they all knew the drill by now, as they stripped from their clothes and got into the same type of attire the others were wearing as quickly as they could.

"We're going to the lower district, that's where most of the activity is happening." One of the others in all black and heavy plated armor said as he stepped up to the two, his voice slightly muffled behind his mask that had a red stripe running up the top of it to the back.

Kai and Tala exchanged looks quietly, pulling their heavy breast plates on and latching them around their sides before tightening the straps down.

"Red is going with Tala to the lower district, Silver is coming with me. There's two attacks, we're not going to focus on just one." Kai said in a commanding tone, one that didn't give him much back talk but the guy that had stepped up didn't look like he was fixing to back down.

"We already have our orders."

"Fuck your orders!" Tala growled at him, shoving his helmet over his head after retying his hair back to get the helmet on without issue.

Kai put a hand down on Tala's shoulder to stop him before it got too ugly. Tala reeled back, stepping down from the other man but held his glare on him as Kai let a silence fall over the locker rooms for a second as he fitted his own helmet down on his head.

"Red is going with Tala to the lower district, Silver is with me. End of." He repeated, even with the helmet muffling his voice it still held the commanding tone to it.

The other man that had approached held his hands up, stepping back. The last thing he wanted was for that one to burn the place down and took his spot back with the other's with red stripes running down the tops of their helmets.

"I don't know where he was…" Tala whispered quietly to Kai.

"I'll have Bryan pull up the tracker." Kai didn't even bat an eye as he grabbed his phone from within his locker, going to Bryan's contact and giving him the order.

Tala held his breath, he never liked having done that to Ray in the first place but now it seemed to be their only way of finding him and making sure he was okay.

Within seconds Kai had Ray's location on his phone, he was to the west of where they were. He'd be able to get to him, out his secret that he had been hiding his entire life from him but as Tala had said it was about time he did.

"Be careful." Tala said, placing a hand on Kai's shoulder for a second before turning to his team and commanding them to move.

Kai watched them go for a minute, this would be a first in them being apart like this on a mission but he trusted that Tala could hold his own without him. He wasn't like him, where he had Wolborg's full powers, but that had never stopped him from doing all he had done already the past three years.

Stuffing his phone into his locker and slamming it shut, he turned to the Silver team and commanded them to move next. Their first stop was the armory before they were to be shipped out, what awaited him outside he wasn't sure but only one thing was on his mind at the moment and that was making sure his family was safe.

* * *

Sweat trailed down his face, the cut on his forehead still dripping with blood that had ran down the side of his neck and soaked into the collar of his shirt. His finger pulling the trigger of his gun rapidly till it clicked, having used up all that was in there and he still had twenty Savages rushing at him and edging closer. Those that had hit the ground slowly pulled themselves back up onto their feet, the bullet wounds healing by the tar like substance that pulled into itself; like it was alive, until the wounds were closed completely and the blood that had ran down their faces seeped into the tar.

If this had been his first time, he would have been shaking uncontrollably. Though, his movements were fast and fluid, no hint of broken nerves as he exchanged magazines again into the gun in his hand. Instead of the one bullet for one Savage, he used two in each one as they came hurling down the road. Knocking them back to the ground, only a few feet away now they still came after him as the sirens became more deafening from behind him.

There were thirty to forty Savages, having used two bullets and wasting the fifteen two at a time, he barely made a dent in the hoards size before he was left without any ammunition again and they were closer. The heat seeping from them reaching him again, making him sweat harder as he choked on the drying air.

He was stuck, he didn't know what to do as his skin felt as if it were burning now with the how close the hoard was approaching. Why they seemed intent on him and him alone now, he was still unsure, but he still couldn't find it in himself to run away; not until he knew the place had been cleared of civilians and they were safe.

With what little spit he had left in his mouth he swallowed it hard, tossing his gun away since it was useless to him now and stood his ground. There wasn't anything more he could do, knowing these things would tear into him the second they got a hold of him.

The wound in his head throbbed, he was tired on top of everything else and the longer he stood there watching the hoard inch closer to him he felt frozen where he stood until a sickening crack of thunder roared across the sky overhead. Shaking him out of his dazed standing quickly, the ground beneath him shaking as black bolts of lightning hailed from the sky and splitting the asphalt where the hoard of Savages stood. Their pained cries filling the air as their bodies twisted, the black bolts of lightning passing through them with how close they were beside one another and dropping to the ground all together in one heap once the lightning disappeared.

"C'mon, we need to go!" Mariah tugged on Ray's arm; her large yellow eyes filled with worry as she had appeared beside him in a pink blur of light.

Ray's head snapped to her, feeling relief wash through him but also the pained guilt whenever he had to look at her. The right side of her face was covered in a large burn mark, her upper lip had scars that ran across her cheek and into her jawline. It was just one more ugly reminder of what a failure he had become, and one more reminder that if it wasn't for him selling his soul the others wouldn't have done the same.

"Is everyone out of here?" Ray asked.

"Yes, but you now let's go!" Mariah tugged on his arm harder, needing to get him moving as the sirens in the distance were edging closer with every passing second.

"Where's Brooklyn?"

"He got held up." Lee said as he approached the two at a normal pace, looking down at the bodies of Savages he had roasted with Galeon's power with a smug grin on his face that revealed his fangs.

"They wouldn't go down…" Ray said as he shook his head some, Mariah's grip on his arm getting tighter. "I shot them; they wouldn't go down!"

Mariah and Lee looked to the heap of Savages; they hadn't moved yet but they also hadn't started reverting back to what they were before either. What Ray had said sent a chill to run down their spines, they had never encountered ones like that. All it took was a bullet between the eyes and they were down, why these ones got up again was just as much a mystery to them as it was to Ray.

"Then we should go, the Lap Dogs are already dealing with the other attack." Lee said calmly, knowing the type of stress Ray was under at the moment as it was why he had been called in to begin with and didn't need to keep him out in the open longer.

"There's two attacks?!" Ray all but yelled, getting his arm pulled by Mariah again.

"Leave them to their mess, we need to get you out of here. Think of the baby." She pleaded.

Ray's head snapped back down to her before he slowly nodded, letting her pull him away this time and the three disappeared across the street in their own streaks of light.

* * *

Anette stood as close as she could to the thousands of tiny screens along the wall of the control room, a smile had been plastered on her face for the longest of time as she watched her children wreak havoc on the world only for it to slowly fall into a hardened frown the longer she watched.

A sudden wave of heat rose from around her body, those close enough jumping back as it shot out and almost reached them, as her crimson eyes burned with a raging intensity in them as her children fell left and right like flies out of the sky as a hail of black lightning shot down into them. Ray was whisked off, she hadn't counted on Mariah being there with Lee, hadn't know she would be there at all.

Within minutes, watching it all in real time on the surveillance cameras littered throughout the city, the Silver team led by Kai showed up and she watched as they swept through the street and picked off the last bit of her children that were still struggling to get back up after Lee's attack.

The fire on her skin reached a point flames were forming on the tips of her fingers, her last attempt at getting what she was after being torn from her hands quickly. In the back of her head she knew she had one card left to play and that was it, knowing what she did she wasn't sure if she could use it anymore; she might have very well just lost all chances she had at getting what she wanted at this point because she hadn't acted sooner.

Her eyes landed on the screen that showed off red-orange hair and black wings stretched to their length, black tendrils of a smoky substance radiating from out his back and engulfing her children without breaking a sweat in the process; her last card that she could use.

"Roman!" She barked over her shoulder, startling the man slightly where he was standing at the table in the middle of the room behind her.

"I want you to release Granger."

Roman's eyes widened, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"He's useless to us as it is, let him go." Anette ordered in a cold tone, turning back around to the screens she had been watching previously as a twisted smirk came to her lips as the plan in her head began to unfold.

"Let him say his goodbyes to his friends."

* * *

**Four Hours Later:**

Tired, burned slightly, and minds scrambling for answers that they couldn't find Ray and the others sat around his table inside his office. The threat had been taken care of, the Lap Dogs coming in and doing their jobs and cleaning up their own mess again. Even with the threat gone the weight was still there on Ray's shoulders, if it wasn't for them none of this would be going on and if he wasn't useless it wouldn't have gone on for as long as it had.

Thankfully they hadn't lost anyone, nobody was badly injured to the point they needed medical attention but he still couldn't shake the feeling he had that something wasn't right.

The way those Savages acted, got up from being shot still shaking him to his core some. They had never seen them like that and Kenny didn't have any answers as to why, Emily had been contacted to help look into it and they were still running over all the possibilities of what it could be now but so far they weren't getting anywhere and that only made Ray's frustrations grow while he looked like he wasn't even in the room with them.

"You should get home, get some rest." Lee spoke to him softly, seeing the dark cloud hanging over Ray's head from where he was sitting beside him.

Ray nodded, he still had to pick Kain up from daycare and go home. As if it he got hit by a truck he felt more aware and awake suddenly.

"I have to go."

"I'll drive you." Mariah piped up from beside her brother, already getting up out of her chair.

Ray nodded almost numbly as he followed her, "Everyone needs to get some rest, it's been a long two days."

"You worry about yourself right now, we'll handle things here." Lee called to him as Ray was leaving the room behind Mariah.

Ray bit his lip; he didn't like doing this to them, leaving Lee there in his stead because he had gone off and gotten himself pregnant again but there wasn't anything he could do about it now but nod again at him as he left them there in his office.

Once he was gone and out of earshot of them Lee turned his attention to Brooklyn and Max, his yellow eyes narrowing at the two of them heatedly.

"Why wasn't I called in sooner?" He growled out.

"He didn't want us to." Max answered calmly, "We've mentioned it to him thousands of times, you know how stubborn he can get."

"We thought we had things under control here." Brooklyn added quickly.

"I should have been called the moment Tyson and Kane went missing!" Lee spat as he slammed his hand on the table, "Now we have a leak, we have Savages that won't go down by normal means and he looks like he's fixing to collapse at any second!"

"We've done what we could, Lee. You can't pin the blame on us when it's his fault for some of this." Max argued back, holding Lee's glare with his own.

"Choose your next words carefully Max, there's more blame to go through this table that he should not have to bear the weight of entirely. You and I both know that." Lee growled out low and threateningly, baring his fangs slightly.

"I think we should retire, as Ray said it's been a long two days." Brooklyn cut in between them, the last thing they needed to do was fight amongst each other.

Max and Lee held their glares at one another a minute longer before they broke it off, the two huffing irritably as Max was the first to push himself away from the table and stand.

"I'll see you two tomorrow." He spat at them before taking his leave, Lee's eyes on his back the entire time until the door slammed closed behind him.

"Forgive him, he's not been the same since Tyson disappeared." Brooklyn sighed as he turned to meet Lee's heated gaze and an outstretched hand.

"What's this?" Brooklyn rose a brow as he lifted a hand to touch the palm of Lee's hand but refrained from touching him at the moment.

"Show me what you can, I need to know what I'm being put up against here and if I should bring Gary in or not."

Brooklyn thought it over for a minute, "My visions aren't coming in like they should recently, what you might see can change; keep that in mind." He said and touched the palm of Lee's hand with the tip of his finger.

The colors in their eyes were overtaken by the white of their eyes, their mouths parting slightly as the vision Brooklyn had been holding back from Ray all this time played out between them. Lasting a mere two minutes before Brooklyn pulled his hand back from Lee's, the two catching their breath as though they felt they had been punched in the guts.

"I haven't shown this to Ray, because I'm not sure if its been changed yet or not. Seeing it again, I don't think it has been though."

"Don't…" Lee shook his head, trying to come back to the room. "Don't show him that."

"I wasn't intending to." Brooklyn shook his own head as it throbbed painfully, "As you said, he looks as though he's about to collapse."

"How long ago did that come to you?" Lee asked, finally feeling as though he could breathe better.

"Shortly after we lost Tyson, you're the only one who knows."

Lee went quiet for a minute, "Who is she? She looked… Familiar."

Brooklyn shook his head, "I can never see her face, it's just the back of the two of them and then the fire."

"How do we stop this?" Lee breathed out painfully.

"I wish I knew…"

* * *

Washed and more put together than he thought was possible, Tala burst through his front door with his heart threatening to leap out of his chest. Only to slightly calm down at the familiar smell of Ray in the home, his worry dissolving as he rushed into the kitchen to find him getting a glass of water from the sink.

Ray would have jumped out of his skin from the sudden rush of Tala coming up to him and pulling him into the tightest hug he had ever given him, if he hadn't heard and smelled him coming into the house, trying not to drop the glass he was holding onto as Tala wrapped himself around him.

"Are you okay?! God you scared the shit out of me!" Tala went off, pulling himself from him and inspecting Ray for anything out of place.

"Tala…" Ray pulled his roaming hands from his face, trying to breathe as he felt tears in his eyes again suddenly. This was hard, harder than anything he ever had to do before.

"Talk to me Kit, please." Tala begged, holding onto Ray's hands in his as he stepped back to give him some room. He knew he was crowding him, but he had never been so scared in his life.

Ray's mouth opened to speak, lay it all out to him when Kai's smell filled the home and he paused. His heart slamming into his chest and his attention turning to the archway that led to the foyer where the third member of their family stepped inside, Mariah's soft footsteps coming down the stairs at the same time and it felt like his breath got snatched out of him quickly.

"Mariah?" Kai eyed her for a minute, not expecting to see her there at all and what was more surprising was the burn mark that covered the entire right side of her face.

"Kai." She said almost dryly, setting down the bags she had been carrying at the door.

Ray pulled himself away from the counter he was being corned against, keeping his hand in Tala's and dragging him out into the foyer where Kai and Mariah were standing and staring at each other.

If one thing hadn't changed over the past ten years, it was Mariah's contempt for Kai and all he had done their first years as a team when he had taken their bit-beasts. Aside from everyone else, she was the only one who disliked the idea of Ray being in the type of relationship he was with the other two but had never once openly voiced her opinion to anyone. The tension was noticeable between the two as Ray and Tala stepped into the foyer with them, Ray not letting go of Tala's hand for a second as Kai's attention was brought to him and he could see the guilt on his face quickly and another scar on his neck.

"Kit… What's going on?" Tala asked, having seen the bags by the door and Mariah standing there.

"He's coming home." Mariah answered for him, putting her hands on her hips as she pointedly stared at Tala. "It's better for him and the babies."

Two sets of eyes moved to him, waiting for him to say something but there wasn't much left to say. She was right, it was better for him and the babies. He couldn't stay there, not with those new types of Savages and being useless. He had failed, in so many ways, he couldn't fail at being a father again.

"You suggested it, I thought it over. It would be better to go home, until things have settled." His voice cracked as he gestured at Kai standing across from him, not missing Tala's hand tightening it's hold on his own.

"Ray…" Tala breathed out, his head swiveling from him to Kai just standing there.

Ray slowly shook his head, biting back the tears. "It's better for right now, you know that. If something… If something happened to this one…"

"Can we have a minute Mariah?" Tala turned to her; begging wasn't something he did often but right now he felt he had to. He fought too hard to get what he had; he wasn't about to just let it all go without a fight.

Mariah nodded slowly, taking herself back up the stairs. She still needed to make sure Kain had what he'd need while they were gone.

Ray slipped his hand from Tala's hold, wiping his eyes quickly. He hated being a hormonal mess at the moment, but it felt like it was his only release that he had.

Kai moved first, feeling it was appropriate given the circumstances, "I told you… I don't want you to leave…" He whispered out, knowing what he did about Mariah now he could only assume she could hear just as well as Tala could now being fused with Galux.

"But it's for the better, Kai. You were right about that…" Ray shook his head, "It's not safe here, there's these… These things out there!"

Kai and Tala's eyes widened, Tala turning back to Ray and grabbing him and inspecting him again quickly.

"Is that what happened when you called me?!"

Ray nodded, "Hit a fence with the car, hit my head on the steering wheel." He paused for a second as a thought hit him just as hard as he had hit the fence.

He hadn't said what type of thing he had seen, yet by the sound of Tala's voice it was as if he knew what he was talking about. Unconsciously he took a step back from them, pulling out of Tala's hold again as his heart dropped into the pit of his stomach at an alarming rate.

"…Where were you two?"

Tala stepped closer to Kai; he didn't like that look on Ray's face any but they had already agreed to finally tell him the truth. Now it would be easier to do since Ray had come in contact with those creatures, the same ones Kai had found and destroyed before finding Ray's car crashed into the fence.

"You should sit down Kit." Tala urged in as calm a tone he could get out of himself at the moment.

"Where were you two?!" Ray shot back, causing the other two to have their own raging questions passing through their heads.

"Ray, sit down." Kai stepped forward again, hoping to calm him down as he looked ready to collapse at any second. Gently taking him up by the arms and tugging him closer to get him into the living room.

Ray couldn't fight back, letting him take him in and sitting down with Tala coming to stand beside him with Kai kneeling in front of him. The air in the room stilled as another tension formed over their heads with a silence none of them wanted at the time, though neither sure where to start and where to end.

"That thing you saw… It's called a Savage, it's a person who was merged with a bit-beast who couldn't handle the merger… They're not human anymore." Kai began in a low, quiet voice as he held Ray's eyes with his own.

Ray's entire body clenched. He knew, Tala knew, how long had they known about these things and why did they know about them?!

He started to shake his head, why he wasn't even sure as the worst possible things came to mind. Were they like him? He hadn't ever wanted that for them, not after all the two of them had already endured before they ever even met.

"Those 'terrorist attacks' you hear about, that's them… Dickenson created them." Kai finished, unsure why Ray had gone to shaking his head but then again he had been acting strange since they got into the house.

Ray's head shot up, his pupils slit quickly at what Kai had said and he shoved him away and stood up with a slight flash of green.

"That's bullshit! He didn't create those things! He was trying to prevent those things from doing the damage they've been causing!"

Kai and Tala blinked a few times as their minds wrapped around what he was saying, how did he know this?!

Ray shifted where he stood, his own brain finally catching up to what he had just said and looked nervously between the two of them and their silent and stunned faces.

"It's you two… Isn't it?" He bit out angrily.

"What're you talking about?" Tala questioned, hoping and praying that Ray's answer wasn't the one he was thinking it was.

Ray turned on him, bile rising in his throat as he stepped back from them again. The answers on all their faces, though neither had the words to explain it all at the moment as the tension returned with a vengeance and the air stilled again only to be cut with the ring of the doorbell going off.


	11. Chapter 11

**Welcome back guys! Kept ya'll in suspense long enough I think (ignore the fact it was because I was stuck in knowing what to do next) but here we go! Seriously, all of your reviews really do help me in getting this out, no matter how long or how short and brief as most of you know I always (try) to respond and talking to you all really helps getting the inspiration throwing. Without you, without that, this wouldn't have gotten as far as it has, so thank you. All of you. It truly means a lot to me.  
Enjoy!**

* * *

**BBA HQ: **

Tired yellow eyes blinked, trying to fight off sleep that was crawling through his aching body from where he sat in Ray's chair. His focus on the video footage he had received of the attack they had all been in only a few hours ago, unmoving through it all with his back stiff against the chair.

Along with the video footage Lee was watching with his tired eyes, he was also replaying the vision Brooklyn had shown him over and over inside his head. He had been there, as if he was a part of the vision itself, and could feel the flames lick his skin and the heat in the air with the smell of blood and death surrounding him. It had caused a chill to run through him despite the heat and thinking back on it now, the chill was still present.

The vision, crystal clear then and now in his memory, the two pairs of red and one pair of black wings. The pain, the destruction, the screams all there in his head and hitting him hard as if he was seeing it all over again. Brooklyn had nothing else to go off on it, didn't know what it meant fully but before he had left Ray's office he had spoken softly to Lee.

_"The end has already been decided."_

Lee was unsure, what it was that unnerved him more now that he had been left alone in the office for the past hour. Brooklyn's vision, or his words that despite Lee and Mariah being there, the future was written and there was nothing else they could do about it. There wasn't a way to branch this vision out, change it over into their favor and now he understood the weight Ray had been carrying on his shoulders.

They were one step closer to that vision, closer to the end, and he wasn't liking the outcome of it. He didn't like that the woman he saw looked familiar, yet without seeing her face he couldn't think of who it was. The hair though, dark-blue and down to her lower back, the pale skin and then the red wings that had sprung from her shoulders were all too familiar and he didn't like it. He felt he knew her, he knew he did, it was just a matter of digging into the darker parts of his memory to get the face of the woman to come to mind now but it felt like a fruitless task.

With a rough sigh Lee fell back into the leather chair, kicking out the vision from his mind for the time being as he needed the room to think. His eyes not once having left the screen of the computer, placed on the corner of the desk, that was still playing the video footage of the streets; hoping to catch something he might have missed while being there in the moment of it all.

On the screen he watched as the Savages bodies fell to the ground where he had herald a wave of black lightning down upon them, watching as Mariah tugged and pleaded with Ray to get out of there and then all three were gone from the screen in their own colorful flashes of light.

Leaning slightly forward Lee could hardly tear his eyes away from the heap of Savages left in the middle of the street, their limbs twitching just seconds after he and the other two had disappeared off camera until they were pulling and untangling themselves from one another. Lee's heart came to a standstill, his breath catching in his throat as he watched the hoard pick themselves off the ground as if they hadn't just been struck down at all.

Their mouths unhinged and they cried into the sky and then there was a hail of bullets coming from off screen, and through the massive attack their bodies twitched violently with the onslaught. Unconsciously Lee leaned closer to the small screen of the computer, his breathing back though he could hardly hear it himself at this point as he watched the bullets tear apart the tarred bodies until there was almost nothing left; whatever the Lap Dogs had used did the trick but that only served to anger Lee in the pit of his stomach.

Yellow, tired, eyes widened as the team of Government lackies finally appeared on the screen. One person walking ahead of the ten or twelve others, all dressed in black with what looked like armor over their clothes and helmets that blocked anything useful from the camera's eye, till that one lone figure stood at the foot of the Savages now torn apart bodies that were slowly reverting back to their human forms. Finally they were dead but Lee was still angered by it, while still not understanding why they hadn't gone down by normal means.

The lone figure's right arm lifted, palm out at the new heap of bodies that were looking more human than Savage again until they were set on fire that had come seemingly from nowhere. Lee's mouth dropped instantly as he watched, his face pressed so close to the screen of the computer now that his nose was close to touching the glass. His hands, that were resting over the top of the desk, grabbed at whatever was on there, papers of some sort, and gripped them to the point his knuckles were turning colors as he strangled the papers as the flames of the fire grew in size.

Then, there was a simple snap of a finger, from the masked lone person standing before the charred heap of bodies, and the flames vanished just as quickly as they had appeared. Those that had followed the other onto the screen had gone off on their own, scattering like roaches through the streets, though Lee's attention was left on the lone person still standing over the burnt bodies.

His throat dried instantly as he watched the lone person pull their helmet off their head, revealing two-toned hair that made his heart stop before it kicked back up and bile to rise into his throat. He wouldn't have believed it, if he wasn't sitting there watching it himself.

Kai dropped the helmet he had left to dangle by his side, his head slowly turning as if he was looking for something and then whatever it was he was looking for must have come into view because then he took off, away from the cameras view, and it wasn't until Lee could no longer see him did he rest back into the leather chair again with a hand running down his face.

This wasn't good, on any level, and it didn't help that in the vision Brooklyn had shown him that Kai had been there.

* * *

**Three Years Ago, December 25****th****:**

_The warmth, the overwhelming scent of the other in the room, and then the harsh morning light cause Ray to let out a feral hiss as the light poured into the room and through his closed eyelids. Pulling the sheets of the hotel bed over his head, flinching away to shield his now stinging eyes from the terrible light of day. _

_ Kai whirled around on his heel, hearing that hiss coming from the other still asleep on the bed where he had left him for most of the morning since he had risen earlier than Ray had. His heart dropped, ever since the night before Ray had been acting differently and they hadn't talked much but still fell asleep beside each other with a slight calm and slight tension in the room. _

_ They had shared beds before, they had already slept together a month before, yet they hadn't touched or brought any of that up during the night. Kai didn't want to know Ray's answer yet, Ray didn't have an answer for him to start with, but the more important question was why Ray had just expressed that feral hiss and then hid himself under the sheets. _

_ "What's wrong?" Kai asked, stepping away from the window and leaving the curtains pulled back. _

_ Ray's heart stilled, though he refused and couldn't move the covers from over his head because he knew the second he did he wouldn't be able to handle the light. How he was going to worm his way around this, he didn't have a clue, damning Max for having put him into this particular predicament to start with. If the blonde hadn't left the apartment, he wouldn't have had to come stay with Kai at all and be reduced to almost tears because of the stupid sun. _

_ "I'm fine… Hangover." Ray muttered from under the sheets, hoping he could play it off well enough since he did have a few drinks at dinner the night before. _

_ "Oh…" Was all Kai could say back and Ray heard his fast and hard footsteps along the carpet of the room, what should have been the soft rustling of a bag felt like someone was crinkling paper right inside his ear filled the room next until it stopped. _

_ Ray's breathing picked up as he felt Kai's weight dip the bed beside him, then the sheets were moved and a pale hand was under the covers near his face with a bottle of aspirin being held out to him. _

_ "Thanks…" Ray said meekly, taking the offered pills from Kai's hand. _

_ "Did you need me to take you back to Max's?" Kai asked, pulling his hand out from under the covers where Ray kept himself hidden where he sat on the bed beside him and over the covers. _

_ "I can have him come pick me up, if you have to get going or something." Ray uttered from under his sanctuary from the horrendous light. _

_ Kai checked his watch, "I don't have to be in another meeting until noon, it's only seven right now." _

_ "Oh…" Ray felt his face warm almost instantly, "Well… What do you want to do?" His voice cracked a little, telling himself that he needed to man up sooner or later here because he had to give Kai an answer at some point. _

_ "If you're not feeling well, we can just get some room service." Kai offered, every now and then glancing down at the lump that was Ray's body pushing under the covers. Still wondering if he was okay or not but didn't ask him again, Ray did have a few more drinks than he did the night before since he had been the one driving. _

_ Ray's stomach coiled at the prospect of food, just like it always did now, and there again was no real desire to eat anything at the moment despite the painful hunger he felt swirling in his gut. _

_ "That sounds good." Even if he didn't want to eat, couldn't eat, Kai was still human and needed food himself. _

_ "Anything in particular you want?" Kai asked, his weight leaving the bed. _

_ "Just whatever you want is fine." Ray answered, shifting around to the edge of the bed and feeling out for his sunglasses that he had left on the side table._

_ Then they were placed in his hands quickly, though Kai didn't say anything to him but he was still grateful for them and slipped them on under the covers and finally emerged from underneath. _

_ "You sure you're okay?" _

_ Ray nodded, "I'll be fine." He waved off Kai's concern, just to stop Kai giving him that soft pitying look because it made the guilt on his shoulders press into him harder. He couldn't tell him because he wasn't allowed to tell him even if he desperately wanted to. _

_ Kai shrugged, it wasn't like Ray kept things to himself but then again that had been a long time ago and people changed. He went about to getting their food ordered up, Ray watching him almost curiously now that he had the shade of his blackened out sunglasses on and could handle the light pouring in from outside slightly better. It wasn't enough, never would be enough, to really take away the sting but it was better than nothing. _

_ "I'm going to step out for a second." Kai said and before Ray could respond he was already walking towards the balcony doors, slipping through them quickly and shut them once he was outside. _

_ Ray released the air he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in once he was alone, this was hard to do but even still he was happy to be there with him. He took into account all what the others had told him days before, that he could do this if he wanted even with all that was going on and fixing to happen. If he wanted a shot at being happy with Kai and Tala this was his chance now, he couldn't really let it slip from his fingers again because he didn't think he'd be able to handle that kind of self-inflicted heartache again. _

_ Curiously, again, he watched Kai from where he stood on the balcony with a cigarette no doubt between those lips of his based on the thin trail of smoke Ray could see coming up from in front of Kai's face and over his head until the breeze took it away. He was just standing there, not really doing much, but Ray couldn't tear his eyes away. _

_ Everything he wanted was right there, just waiting for him like Kai had been waiting for him it seemed. Brooklyn had been right, then again when someone with his ability to see into the future, it wasn't that much of a surprise. _

_ Ray didn't know why but he found a comfort in Brooklyn's words; his fate wasn't to turn Savage and that had been a terrible weight lifted off of him. Brooklyn had also seemed very intent on getting him to do this, just as the others of their old team were, though to Ray it seemed as if Brooklyn knew that this would work without fail and that helped Ray finally make up his mind. _

_ As Kai stepped back into the room their eyes met briefly, even through Ray's sunglasses, and the tension that had been in the air seemed to leave in that moment and their own small smiles crept up their lips. _

_ "I take this look as a yes." _

_ Ray nodded, his smile growing along his face that showed his fangs. "As long as you're understanding to what it is you two are signing up for here." _

_ "I think we can handle it."_

* * *

**Present Time:**

Ray's head shot up, his pupils slit quickly at what Kai had said and he shoved him away and stood up with a slight flash of green.

"That's bullshit! He didn't create those things! He was trying to prevent those things from doing the damage they've been causing!"

Kai and Tala blinked a few times as their minds wrapped around what he was saying, how did he know this?!

Ray shifted where he stood, his own brain finally catching up to what he had just said and looked nervously between the two of them and their silent and stunned faces.

"It's you two… Isn't it?" He bit out angrily.

"What're you talking about?" Tala questioned, hoping and praying that Ray's answer wasn't the one he was thinking it was.

Ray turned on him, bile rising in his throat as he stepped back from them again. The answers on all their faces, though neither had the words to explain it all at the moment as the tension returned with a vengeance and the air stilled again only to be cut with the ring of the doorbell going off.

All three heads snapped to the archway of the foyer, Ray and Tala frowning at themselves as they hadn't sensed anyone approaching the house being in their current predicament and nobody moved and inch. Finally it hit them both as to who was out there, though in Ray's head he was questioning why he would have shown up at his home. Not now, it wasn't the right time because he wasn't even sure what the hell was going on right now through all of this.

Tala's eyes shifted to Kai without much more movement than that, the smell of the newcomer finally clicking in his head and he frowned hard. First Mariah was here, someone they both knew now had been part of the Fusion Project, and now _he_ had the gall to show up to _their_ doorstep.

Ray didn't know what to do, or if there was anything he could do to stop this terrible nightmare turned reality from stopping. Once more, the rushing realization of what all he knew to be true in his head was crashing down around him and he was surprised he was still standing. They were like him and he still, with all his being, didn't want that for them.

The doorbell went off again causing the two who knew who was out there to flinch slightly, Kai looking between the two from where he was now standing with his eyes going to the door with a hardened look on his face. Striding the space of the living room into the foyer, Ray's breath catching in his throat but couldn't get his words out of his mouth to stop him when Kai jerked the door open.

The hardened look on Kai's face faltered slightly before it came back as crimson locked onto teal and that damn smile he hated seeing, ever since their match years ago when they were teenagers.

Holding down the heat that wanted to race along his skin he stepped back, watching Brooklyn step into his home carefully as he shut the door. This was the man they had been after for almost two years now, why he was here he didn't know unless it was his way of taunting them now. The way he had watched Brooklyn's attention go to way made his skin crawl and the heat on his skin slowly seeped through the closer he stepped towards Ray who was just staring at him.

Tala stepped away from him, he wasn't backing down but he too was becoming overly confused as to what it was Brooklyn was suddenly doing in his home and stepping closer to his partner who wasn't stepping back but looking at him as though he was relieved to see him suddenly.

Even with the heat he could feel coming off of Kai he touched his arm, flinching slightly at the burn it caused on the palm of his hand, but needed him to keep it down as they still didn't have all their answers yet and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know right now.

"What're you doing here?" Ray asked, not once tearing his eyes away from Brooklyn who had come to stop in front of him. Effectively blocking his view from the other two and them of him.

"Sit, before something happens." Brooklyn commanded with a knowing look in his eyes.

Ray swallowed hard but did as he was told, holding back from trembling as much as he could because he didn't like that look in Brooklyn's eyes. Mariah's scent filled the first floor and she pressed herself past Kai and Tala without a word, as if they weren't even there, with Kain held in her arms and sat down beside Ray on the couch.

"Brooklyn, what's going on?"

Brooklyn turned to look over his shoulder at the other two seemingly frozen in the doorway before he slowly waved them to come forward, like always the two exchanged glances and stepped into the living room as if they were one unit but they refused to sit down.

Kai's eyes went to Mariah holding his son, clenching his teeth and biting his tongue while Tala had to finally pull his hand off his arm as the heat got too hot against his skin.

"You know as well as I do, that leaving isn't going to solve this." Brooklyn spot with an air of authority that commanded the room to her person.

Mariah narrowed her eyes, of course he would have seen them trying to leave and come to stop it. She wasn't blind, even if her vision had been hindered by the fire that scarred her face, but she knew what the red-head before he felt for the man sitting beside her.

"It's better for the babies, you _know_ that." She bit back, baring her fangs as her grip on Kain got tighter as if he was going to reach down and snatch him from her hold.

Brooklyn heard her even if he didn't look like he had and turned his attention to Ray, ignoring the pointed stares at the back of his head from Ray's partners and consequently the fathers of his children.

"It doesn't matter what you do, what we do, the end has been decided now. But, it's up to you on which side you want to be on through this."

"What're you talking about?" Ray asked with a waver in his tone as his heart dropped.

"I'm sure you can figure it out, Ray." Brooklyn said in too calm of a tone as he stepped away so Ray was now able to see the other two in front of him on the other side of the living room, still standing beside each other.

"From the burn on Mariah's face, to your own burns on your hands." Brooklyn continued in that calm tone, though his focus was now on the two men across from him as he stood on the side of the couch beside Mariah; only being separated by the armrest.

Ray's mouth dried as a lump formed in his throat that he struggled to force down along with the violent twist in his stomach, making him feel as though he was fixing to puke in an instant when he finally forced himself to look up and meet the eyes of his lovers.

"Or, what about that bullet wound in your leg?" Brooklyn continued and that caused Kai and Tala's brows to raise in question, yet Kai's came down quickly as a wave of guilt crashed into him.

"You were there…" Kai breathed out, barely above a whisper but Ray could hear him as if he had said that right into his ear.

"It is you two…" Mariah gaped, having heard the previous conversation from upstairs thanks to her heightened abilities as a neko-jin and Galux.

"But you knew." Ray hissed out as his pupils slit, turning his attention on Brooklyn who slowly nodded as confirmation.

Ray was up in another flash of green light that was brighter than the one before it, this time Tala and Kai catching it and Tala grabbing Kai's arm again because it finally settled in what he had been fearing all along.

"YOU KNEW!" Ray's voice boomed as he stood toe-to-toe with the slightly taller man, outside a roar of thunder shook the house and Mariah gaped at him next.

That had never happened before, he didn't possess that kind of power from Driger like Lee did with Galeon and it scared her.

"Ray…" She whispered quietly, knowing he could hear him as Kain winced at the sound from his father and the shaking of the house.

"How much more have you known, have kept from me?!" Ray bellowed out and with it another crack of thunder roared across the sky outside.

Kai and Tala could only stand back and watch, every passing second feeling like it was the longest second of their lives with the guilt falling ever harder upon Kai's shoulders.

The burns on his hands, the bullet wound in Ray's leg that he had played off as an old injury from the village when he returned, everything finally coming to light and he wished it wasn't. Wished he could go back, stop this from happening somehow yet there were still unanswered questions to everything.

"Don't act like you did this without the mission in mind." Brooklyn said coolly, not looking fazed by the yelling or the thunder roaring outside.

Ray's hand came out and hit him across the face with a hard slap, forcing Brooklyn's head to snap to the right and his fair skin to quickly redden with thin lines of blood running down his left cheek where Ray's claws had come out and tore his flesh away.

Kai and Tala stiffened, not because of the smack Ray had given to Brooklyn but because of what Brooklyn had said, had implied. Ray had only come to them, because of this? That thought, although painful, didn't seem so farfetched now as their brains processed it all. It would have been the perfect coverup, would have been the perfect reason to come and live with them if the BBA wanted him there in Russia. They still, with what little hope they felt, didn't want to believe that was the reason.

Mariah had jumped again with the smack, holding Kain to her chest and feeling as though she was lost on what to do now.

"You _dare_! That was never it, you know that!" Ray yelled, his pupils getting thinner. "I didn't even know!"

"You might not have known, but there was still that doubt. Always has been, you and I know that. Or maybe, you just wished to ignore what has been in front of you all this time." Brooklyn said, letting his blood run down the side of his face from the claw marks on his cheek that stung with the cold air hitting the open wounds.

Ray clenched his teeth, yes there had always been a doubt and Brooklyn knew of it because he had trusted him. Trusted all of them and now that trust he had was being ripped to shreds, right before his own eyes, and he felt responsible for it all.

Kai had had enough of the back and forth, it was getting them nowhere even with the out pour of answers they were receiving. He stepped closer, dragging Ray's attention to him though his pupils remained slit and he bore his fangs at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Ray didn't give him a chance to speak, taking a step back from him.

Kai had burnt him, had shot him, and his instinct told him to keep up a distance between him and Tala now. They were the enemy, always had been it seemed, no matter how much he loved them that fact overpowered what he felt for them at that moment.

"To protect you." Kai answered in a neutral tone, the heat that had been around him dying away as he saw the fear and uncertainty in Ray's eyes now.

Ray scoffed, "Protect me?! You've made this a thousand times harder! You killed Dickenson, all for the goddam formula and for what?!" He screamed with the only information he knew, hoping it would cut where he wanted it to but also regretted that he even wanted to hurt them like this.

"We didn't kill him; we've been looking for him! We thought, have been lead to believe, it was him that caused this! On top of _him_!" Kai yelled back, jerking an arm out towards Brooklyn as the heat came out again from his skin almost tenfold to where Ray could feel it in the air around them now.

"Your grandfather and Boris caused this mess! Dickenson was trying to right it!" Ray fought back.

"But we didn't kill him." Tala cut in, not liking this or the way Brooklyn was slowly smiling as if he was taking enjoyment for ripping apart their family like this.

Why had he come here, why now, and why was the bastard smiling like this was what he had wanted all along?

"Then who did?!" Ray went off, feeling it to. The way everything they had suddenly coming down around them and he couldn't find a way to grab onto it quick enough.

Brooklyn rolled his head on his shoulders, focusing on Kai now as his smile never wavered. "Should I also tell him where Tyson has been all this time?"

Ray's heated gaze went from Kai and Tala to Brooklyn, his frantic heart slamming to a stop again before he could hold back the bile that had been steadily rising in his throat.

"You didn't..." He breathed out hard, trying to stand tall and not waver as his legs felt like they wanted to give out from under him at any second.

"He's alive!" Tala saw the panic, the fear and the tears coming to Ray's eyes instantly.

Ray shook his head, as if trying to rid it of everything that was going on. "He was still your friend! He was once your teammate, Kai! What have you done with him, where is he?!"

"We have him, he's unharmed." Kai quickly went off, not liking that look on Ray's face any more than his other lover did at the moment.

Full of hate, contempt, and confusion as if he didn't even know who he was looking at right now. As if the past three years didn't matter right now to him, as if they hadn't mattered to him anymore as the truth kept coming out between them all. Worst of all, he didn't like seeing those tears rolling down Ray's face.

Even if this hurt, more than anything they had ever had to go through, Kai and Tala understood why he was crumbling so quickly. He hadn't been born and bred for this, they had been, and if they had been around more often then they would have seen it. Seen the weight Ray had been carrying around on his shoulders the past months, not knowing was just another stab into the heart for them that they wished wasn't there.

As if something else snapped in him Ray turned back to Brooklyn, "How do know where Tyson has been, every time before you didn't know."

"He's back, as they said, unharmed." Brooklyn answered calmly.

Ray nodded and shook his head at the same time, finally they had Tyson back but that was only one person. His eyes shot back to Kai quickly, his claws digging into the palms of his hands and drawing blood as his arms shook.

"And Kane?!"

Kai slowly shook his head; he hadn't known it was him at the time until his body reverted back to its human self. Tyson was impenetrable but Kane wasn't and he had become just one more casualty on top of all the others.

Ray choked on a sob that got caught in his throat, at the same time feeling more bile trying to fight its way out but he didn't want to puke all over the floor. He had no right to feel like this, not when he had killed Ian; they were one for one it seemed. No better than the other now.

"Ray." Mariah was beside him as the room became overwhelmed with a silence, shifting Kain on her hip as she gently touched Ray's shaking shoulder.

"We can't change what's happened, we have Tyson back now. That's what should matter."

"How many more… How many more of our _friends_ have you killed?!" Ray yelled, ignoring Mariah beside him and the soft whimper from his son as he recoiled from his own father's booming voice.

"We had Mystel for a short while, knowing what we do now though, we can only assume he's gone now too." Tala spoke up, trying to keep the calm through the tension.

"And what is it you really know?" Ray asked almost painfully.

"Tyson said the same thing, that Dickenson has been dead but we didn't do it. I swear Kit, we didn't kill him. We didn't take the formula; we've only been tasked with taking care of the Savages that we _thought_ were being created by the BBA.

"We didn't know you were a part of this either, we kept it from you to protect you from this because we love you." Tala said firmly, holding Ray's eyes with his own as he spoke. Hoping that Ray could hear it, could see that they loved him and wished Ray did too.

Ray's fangs sank into his lower lip, biting onto it hard as everything became a more jumbled mess in his head than it currently was. They were being pinned against each other, always had been, and either too naive or just that willful that the truth wasn't what it was.

"Doesn't matter now though, does it? We can't get back the people we've lost, can't take back what's been done to any of us. I never wanted this for you two... I never wanted _this_ to happen!" Once more he turned his attention on Brooklyn, his cheek stained with his dried blood.

"Was this your intent? To come here and rip us apart because of how you feel for me?" He hissed out low as more pieces of the puzzle began to click into place.

Kai and Tala's back went ridged, their eyes narrowing at the man they had been chasing the past two years. Hating the soft look Brooklyn was still giving their lover even after getting smacked across the face.

It was clear, they could see it, and with everything else they realized that the two worked together and had been working together all along. They trusted Ray though, never once had they doubted him, they just hated that look Brooklyn was giving him.

"No." Brooklyn answered, "I came to help clear the air, because of what I feel for you. Because Lee saw video of Kai after the attack and told me to come here, to make sure you were safe. Already you've been hurt, I was here if you needed me."

Ray looked at Kai, he didn't know it was him that night. Neither of them knew and he couldn't hold that against him, and he could see the guilt in Kai's eyes now that he did know what had happened that night.

Tala looked between the two of them quietly, it didn't help him any that he didn't remember anything that night eighteen months ago, but slowly he could see the broken pieces of their life coming back together. It wasn't often that Kai and Ray could do what he and Kai could, just look at one another in such a way it filled the gaping holes, but there in that moment he could tell they were mending even if it was a slow progress.

Until Brooklyn opened his mouth to speak again.

"Because he hasn't been as truthful as either of you two have been lead to believe either. Isn't that right Kai?" Brooklyn asked as he rolled his head on his shoulders again to take in Kai standing just a few steps away from him.

All eyes fell on Kai, even Tala's though he doubted what Brooklyn was saying. He still felt that he was there to rip them apart, didn't trust him any. He knew Kai, better than anyone on the planet did, but as he watched Kai stiffen where he stood maybe he didn't know him as well as he thought.

* * *

**Three Years Ago, December 25****th****:**

_Slowly Ray rolled his head onto Kai's bare shoulder, the room finally dark enough that he didn't have to wear his sunglasses for once and it wasn't like he even knew where Kai had put them after things became overly heated between the two the past few hours. He hadn't even gotten a chance to get out of bed after they had eaten and talked more over what was fixing to happen and all the changes they were going to face once he came back to Russia with Kai. _

_ Kai hadn't even gotten a chance to let the third member of their expanding family know the news, though at the current moment he really wasn't caring; he'd call Tala later. _

_ "You sure you should have called off today?" Ray asked, tracing a mindless pattern over Kai's chest just off to the side of where his head lay. _

_ "Bit late to worry about it now." Kai chuckled lightly, his own fingers mindlessly running through the dark locks that were stuck to Ray's back from sweat, slowly and carefully untangling the knots that were there._

_ "That's true." Ray chuckled, burying his face into Kai's chest where he could smell the aftereffects of all that had been going on off his skin like he was bathing in it. _

_ His tired eyes slipped closed, listening to Kai's heart beating against his chest to a slow rhythm of it's own. Finding the ability to move his legs again he tangled them with Kai's under the sheets, shifting to just get a bit closer to him and soak up the warmth that always came off of Kai's body. _

_ "Why are you so warm? You've always been warm." Ray mumbled out tiredly, he was sticky and gross and smelt awful but he couldn't find it in himself to pull away from the other now that he had him. As if he let go he'd lose him again._

_ Kai bit his tongue, there was a reason for it but he couldn't tell him. It would make Ray want to run, and he couldn't stomach the idea of that happening. Not after what they had just done back to back the way they had, where they had finally told the other that they loved each other in the throes of it all. _

_ He didn't want his past, that he had buried deep, to come up and breaking all that he had just worked so hard to get. Tala knew why, because they had endured it together. Though it just wasn't Dranzer's powers that fed his body the unhuman warmth he had and that was something Tala didn't know and would never know. _

_ "Dunno, just always have been…" Kai answered almost awkwardly, a smirk cracking over his lips as he could hear the subtle purring coming from Ray beside him and the slight vibrations against his own body._

_ "Happy?" _

_ "You have no idea." Ray sighed contently, his purring getting louder. _

_ Maybe this would be okay, this other road that he was walking down now. The training he'd have to do once the process was complete would be hard, he knew that, what was to come in three years' time was still a terrible thought that he had to the point the vision Brooklyn showed him still shook him to his core. Though, that was exactly why he had agreed to this, and maybe in a way, had finally agreed to become the third wheel of this relationship with the other two. _

_ To watch over them, to protect them on the front lines. He'd lay his life down for them, without question, just like he would for all of his friends. If he hadn't been convinced at first by Brooklyn's vision, he was sure now that this was what he wanted to do. For them. _


	12. Chapter 12

Tala looked between the two of them quietly, it didn't help him any that he didn't remember anything that night eighteen months ago, but slowly he could see the broken pieces of their life coming back together. It wasn't often that Kai and Ray could do what he and Kai could, just look at one another in such a way it filled the gaping holes, but there in that moment he could tell they were mending even if it was a slow progress.

Until Brooklyn opened his mouth to speak again.

"Because he hasn't been as truthful as either of you two have been lead to believe either. Isn't that right Kai?" Brooklyn asked as he rolled his head on his shoulders again to take in Kai standing just a few steps away from him.

All eyes fell on Kai, even Tala's though he doubted what Brooklyn was saying. He still felt that he was there to rip them apart, didn't trust him any. He knew Kai, better than anyone on the planet did, but as he watched Kai stiffen where he stood maybe he didn't know him as well as he thought.

There was a looming silence that plagued the home, Brooklyn's words clinging to the stale air around them that suddenly felt more suffocating than it had been since he had stepped into their home.

Ray's eyes bounced from Kai to Tala, as if looking for the answer there in Tala's eyes for what Brooklyn was talking about but there, just like in his own eyes, he didn't know what Brooklyn's words meant.

With the eyes, both in front of him and the pair at the back of his head, Kai felt glued to the floor for the first time in his life. With nothing to say, with no way to explain it where he didn't risk losing the only people who meant everything to him he didn't know what to do. He had hid it this long, always for the same reason as everything else he ever did the past several years, but now there was no way to hide it.

As the tension thickened to the point they could have choked on it, Kai's arm moved swiftly in the blink of an eye and there was a gun drawn up in his hand that was trained at Brooklyn only a mere few feet away from him. Only, there was one drawn up right back at him and gold clashed with crimson in a hardened stare.

"_Put it down_." Ray's voice commanded, cold and almost distant that neither Kai or Tala recognized it for a second.

Tala and Mariah had gasped, the woman quickly rushing away with Kain at her side in a pink flash of light to get them out of the line of fire were Kai to not heed Ray's warning. Tala stayed there in the living room, staring back between the two and his hand itching for his own gun that was safely secured under his shirt.

Kai's eyes narrowed at Brooklyn and then at Ray, the heat over his skin coming back as the fire in his eyes alighted with such an intensity Ray had never seen before.

"Why?!" He barked out; his arm steady despite his gut twisting in thousands of knots.

"Because we're on the same side dumbass! Now put it _down_!" Ray yelled, his arm shaking but didn't lower his own weapon.

"Why didn't you tell us? Why did you hide it this long, why _would_ you hide it this long and side with… HIM?!" Kai spat out, unsure if he was even making sense at the moment.

Brooklyn's eyes shifted ever so subtly between the two men he was seemingly being pinned by, a small smirk coming to his lips as he kept his back to the wall behind him.  
This was exactly what he had wanted, not for the feelings he had for Ray but because of a long overdue revenge that he had sworn he would have one day on the man to his right. And this, sweet, sweet revenge was better than he could have ever hoped to have had as he watched the men around him crumbling completely. All because he was there, tearing them apart at the seams.

"I wasn't allowed to tell you! Even if I had told you do you think that would have made this any better? Any easier?! God, I'm sorry that I kept this from the two of you but you've done the same damn thing!" Ray yelled before his trembling got to the point he couldn't control it, as more tears slipped down his face but he refused to lower his gun.

"I didn't come here because of this though, I _wanted_ to be with you two… I really did…"

"Then put it down." Kai said coolly, the heat around him slowly retracting.

Ray stared at him, hard, before he slowly lowered his arm to his side. Still clutching his gun in his hand, just in case and he prayed he didn't need to use it at all.

Kai kept his gun on Brooklyn, still not liking the man standing there looking as though nothing was going wrong. It was his fault, was the best excuse Kai could come up with. Why, hell if he knew at this point on top of everything else going on, but he wanted him out of his sight and away from his family for good.

"How long have you known?" Kai directed at Brooklyn, dragging the red-heads attention to him again.

"Since Orlando." Brooklyn answered calmly, barely batting an eye or sparing another word.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ray breathed out as his chest clenched, once more feeling as though he was fixing to puke all over the floor.

"Because of the stress it would have put on your shoulders at the time, you were pregnant with Kain. I didn't want to be the reason you lost another child again." Brooklyn said quietly as his head rolled on his shoulders to look at Ray on the other side of him.

Tala's breath caught in his throat, his eyes going quickly between the two on the far end of the living room and caught Ray's eyes shift to him nervously with the tears coming to the corners of his eyes quicker.

"It was an accident…" Ray explained in a painful breath, shaking his head slightly. "It was foolish of me… And I am so sorry."

Tala bit back his own tears, there was nothing to say or do about it now even if his entire body burned at the idea that Ray had knowingly been out there while pregnant. Not only putting himself in harm's way but ultimately their child's life, that had seemed to be snuffed out before it had a chance, taking away the one thing he had really ever wanted after having the other two in his life.

"What about this one?" Tala managed to ask, just to break the suffocating silence that kept coming over them.

"I haven't done anything until today, haven't been in the field since Orlando." Ray explained with another shake of his head.

Once more that night, the one that seemed to be just a blur to him, came back up and seemed to be the part that stemmed out to where they currently all were.

"Put it down Kai." Tala ordered as he stepped into the living room further, taking a seat on the couch that consequently faced where Brooklyn was standing. The only thing separating him and the other red-head was the coffee table now, as he crossed a leg over the other and folded his arms over his chest.

Kai lowered his gun, setting it back into its holster, under his shirt, but stayed glued to where he stood. Ray followed suit, placing his gun on his hip and covering it back with his shirt like Kai had done. Unable to stand longer he sat back down where he had been before, running a hand through his bangs to pull them back from his slightly sweating face from the heat waves that had come and gone off of Kai.

"Can you show me?" Tala asked, holding Brooklyn's gaze.

"Tala." Kai glanced at him; he didn't need him to remember because then that would out the worst part of him that he didn't want either of them to know about.

Tala ignored him, keeping his attention on Brooklyn as he kept his back pressed into the couch. Ray was now looking between all three, unsure why Tala would ask that question to Brooklyn to start with if he had been there all along, but couldn't find his voice at the moment to ask.

"I can." Brooklyn answered before looking at Ray for second, "Do you want me to?"

Ray arched a brow at him. With everything else that had just come to light, came unraveling around them, the last thing he had expected was for Brooklyn to keep up the pretense of Director and second in command.

"Why do you want him to show you?" Ray asked as he found his voice, it coming out hoarse from all the crying and yelling he had been doing the past hour.

"Because even if I had been there, I don't remember what happened. All I know is that I came close to dying that night." Tala explained though refused to look away from Brooklyn, as if he was challenging him. This was his home; Ray was still his lover and father to his child that he was currently carrying. He wasn't about to back down to him.

Ray's brow rose higher into his hairline, looking to Kai for a brief moment to see another wash of guilt come over his face and in his eyes. He didn't like that look, never would, because he never saw it that often in him. Even if he never liked that look in Kai's eyes it would always cement just how much he loved him because he knew, had known all along, that Kai was more than capable of feeling emotions just like the rest of them.

"Kai?" Ray's voice seemed to bring him back to the room, his guilt filled crimson eyes lifting to him quietly.

There was something in the way Ray had called his name that seemed to soothe the wash of guilt he felt, already he had been forgiven by him for doing all he had that night even if they hadn't explicitly said the words to each other. He had seen it in the way Ray had looked at him, knew it down to his soul that Ray had meant what he had said about wanting to be with them. That none of this had been because of what Ray had become, if anything it was just because they both had been driven to do the same thing; protect each other and their family.

Slowly Kai turned to Tala, "Don't hate me."

"I never could, even if I tried." Tala responded softly, only glancing at him and seeing Ray nod to Brooklyn before the other man slowly stepped around Kai and the coffee table that stood between them until Brooklyn was standing in front of him.

"If you're ready." Brooklyn held his hand out, palm up to him.

Tala unfolded his arms from around himself, leaning slightly forward to reach up and placed his hand in Brooklyn's. The color in their eyes vanished into the whites, Tala's mouth falling open and Kai shifted where he stood as he watched and his heart slammed into his chest.

"It's okay." Ray spoke up, not having missed the panic that had come over Kai's face. "It'll just take a minute."

Kai nodded and stood back, watching intently as the time ticked down and seemed to drag on longer than it ever had before. The last time he had felt this nervous was when Ray had gone into labor with Kain, had felt this uneasiness in him that he couldn't seem to shake off of him despite all of his attempts.

Tala let out a gasp as he pulled his hand back from Brooklyn's hand, the color in his eyes coming back before he fell against the couch as if all the energy and life had been drained from him. Brooklyn clutched the side of his own head, stepping back from him and going to sit down beside Ray on the other side of the couch to regain his bearings.

As the room and reality came back to him Tala looked up, what Kai had been dreading to see in his eyes wasn't there at all and he felt himself relax as Tala just stared back at him for the longest of time.

"It wasn't your fault." He finally breathed out, almost as if he had been punched in the gut.

Ray pieced together what he knew of that night, the fire and the destruction that had gone on around him, down to the burns on his own hands to the burn on Mariah's face, and the one on Tala's back that he had said was from his days in the Abbey.

"You lost control…" His voice brought the rest of the room back, the rest of them back to what was going on and really hitting it over their heads that this had happened and there was nothing any of them could do about it but press on.

Kai nodded; he didn't know what else to do at the moment but do that one simple thing.

Ray sucked in a breath, that wasn't good but once more there was nothing any of them could do to change what had happened. He turned his attention back to Brooklyn, waiting for him a second more till he removed his hand from the side of his head.

"You need to go, take Mariah with you and tell Lee that I'm fine. I'll be back in tomorrow."

"If that's what you want." Brooklyn said beside him.

Ray nodded, "We need to figure this out, without you here." He said more firmly, to get his point across.

"Very well." Brooklyn pushed himself off the couch, "If you need me, just call."

"I doubt he'll need it." Tala said in an icy tone, glaring at the other man who had outstayed his welcome in their home.

"After what you just saw, how can you be sure?" Brooklyn asked, looking unfazed as he stepped past Tala whose glare hardened as Brooklyn swept past him.

"Brooklyn." Ray bit out at him and Brooklyn slowly turned to face him, once he had reached the arch of the living room and foyer.

Brooklyn smirked at the slit eyes that greeted him, "You have always been my priority, don't think I did this to hurt you."

"Just go." Ray growled out low with a feral noise in the back of his throat that rumbled through his chest.

Brooklyn nodded, "Mariah." He called up to her, knowing she had heard everything and in a flash she was back down in the foyer with him without Kain this time.

"He's asleep right now." She directed to Ray who nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow." He waved her on as they stepped outside, the second the door opened and closed it felt as though all the air had been sucked out of the house.

With the return of the silence Ray shifted, pulling his gun out of its holster and laid it on the coffee table that separated them all. Tala had watched him quietly and did the same with his, their eyes going to Kai at the same time who stepped up and placed his own down next beside the other two but refused to sit with them. Choosing to stand in the center of the living room, folding his arms over his chest again.

"Where do we start?" Ray asked in a breath, looking between the two of them.

"Why did Dickenson do this?" Tala spoke, seeing that Kai was still tense even with the house clear of the others.

Ray sat back into the couch with a sigh, "Brooklyn had a vision, there was a war between humankind and Savages that he felt he could prevent by creating Fusions. Fight fire with fire. I never asked how he got the formula for it, but we assumed it was the same that Boris had during BEGA; which is when Brooklyn had been fused.

"At the reunion party we had, three years ago, that's when we were chosen and all decided on it. Lee, Tyson, and myself were the first to go through it after Max had already been successfully Fused. Then Lee sent in the others from the village, Judy pulled the old PPB team together for the next set while more came in to do the same." Ray began in a low, quiet voice as he explained all that he knew.

"I had asked if you two had ever gone through it, back in the Abbey, but Dickenson didn't know at the time and then he was killed two years ago. Leaving me in charge of this part of the BBA, Judy runs the BBA in America and Salima runs the one in Japan; where Tyson and Kane came from before you two took them in…" His voice trailed slightly when he thought of Kane and Salima, how was he going to tell her that Kane was gone?

He shook his head at himself, he'd have to deal with one thing at a time before he overwhelmed himself even more.

"I was still in training, when I moved in with you two. It's why I had those sunglasses you two hated so much, why I had so many scars on my body at the time. Brooklyn oversaw my training for almost a year, during that time… When we were training…" His voice cut off as he turned to meet Tala head on.

"As I said, it was an accident… I didn't mean for it to happen…"

"It's okay…" Tala choked back the tears he felt in his own eyes, hating that same guilt that always flooded Ray's whenever the topic of their first was brought up.

"We have this one now."

Ray nodded slowly, pushing down the lump in his throat as he regained his voice and sat back into the couch. Going through the past three years in his head, thinking of all that he could tell them without dragging it out.

"After Dickenson was killed, who we assumed was you two who killed him, I took over and then shortly after things just kept getting worse. The formula Dickenson had was stolen and given to the government, though we never understood why they wanted it to start with. Then the Savages got worse, they had always been there but not like this. Then, you two were there cleaning up the same messes we were trying to clean up and got ourselves stuck in the crossfire it seems."

"Whoever is actually behind this, wanted us to do this." Kai cut in, the other two nodding their agreement.

"You had already said, before, that you didn't think it was the same formula from Boris because we had erased those files." Tala directed at Kai, the two meeting each other's eyes and then turned to Ray since he had been on that side and assumed he would have the answer.

"I don't know where they got it originally from, I'd assume Brooklyn would know since he was the one that had the vision to start with." Ray said quickly, not missing the way the other two's brows furrowed at the mention of Brooklyn again.

"Stop looking at me like that, he and I have never done anything _or_ would ever do anything." Ray added just as quickly, on top of the truth coming to light the last thing they all needed was a pity jealousy fight over him.

That still didn't stop the jealousy that was brewing in the other's stomachs, though their faces softened slightly while waiting for him to continue.

"Why did the government want the experiment?" Ray asked with another sigh.

"We don't know, I assumed that they caught onto what Dickenson was doing and took it. That he was creating the Savages in retaliation, causing more of a mess. We didn't realize that we had just been feeding them more Fusions to turn."

"Can that be done?" Ray asked as his mouth dropped open.

"It's what Tyson said they had tried to do to him, though with his thicker skin they couldn't pierce through it." Tala said with a slight shrug, "But it would explain where Mystel disappeared to."

Ray's heart slammed into his ribcage, another one gone and there wasn't anything he could do about it either.

"Fuckin perfect…" He muttered in a growl, pulling at his hair again. "I always thought a Savage was just someone who couldn't handle the process, not that they could be created!"

"We don't know how it works out either, we were hired for one thing and one thing only. To stop the BBA." Kai said in a neutral tone.

Ray nodded slowly, releasing his hair from his hands. "Why were you hired?"

"Because of the Abbey, we were useful to them. Same reason, in a sense, to why Dickenson did what he did. Fight fire with fire."

"Literally." Tala snorted with an eye roll, getting a slight glare from the other two briefly though they were slightly grateful that he was the one to try and push out the tension they still felt.

"We also asked why they wanted the others alive; Tyson, Kane, and Mystel when normally we were told to just kill the Savages. They never said, and we never questioned because they always threatened to kill us." Kai continued once he turned his glare away from Tala and focused on Ray across the room from him.

"Max and Kenny are working on a reversal serum, it's in the early stages still but so far it's coming along." Ray explained, "Our goal was to bring in the Savages alive to try and undo the process completely, but with the two of you we haven't had nearly as many to turn back."

"Sorry." Tala said from his spot on the couch.

Ray rolled his eyes as he shook his head, "Tal, right now really _isn't_ the time." He slightly bit at him with another glare.

Tala held his hands up as he uncrossed his legs, "What do you want me to do Kit? You two are way too stiff over this whole mess. Yeah, it sucks in all the worst ways possible, but what can we do about it? We've all been played here, but there's nothing we can _do_ about it. So instead of going over what happened, why don't we talk about what to do _next_."

Ray and Kai exhaled a deep breath. As much as they hated him being right, there again, was nothing they could do but agree.

"According to Brooklyn, Tyson is back but we didn't release him." Tala mused since the other two went quiet on him.

"Roman probably did, if he's no use to them because of that skin of his." Kai grumbled back.

Ray's brow rose slightly, "Is that why your hand was broken three months ago?"

Kai looked at him and nodded slowly, before he clenched his teeth as he watched Ray trying to hold in a laugh.

"Ow…" Ray snickered behind his hand, "Bet that didn't feel good."

"Really, you're going to laugh about it?" Kai grumbled deeper in almost a growl.

Ray shrugged his shoulders, "Shouldn't have taken one of my men." He said plainly with a small smirk on his face.

On the other side of the couch Tala was looking between the two with a humorous glint in his eyes, the tension finally snapping away to the point it felt like they had back what they had all fought so hard to have in the first place.

They still had the threat, the unknown person who had pinned them against each other. As much as he assumed it was Roman, that man was lucky he could tell his knee from his elbow, which meant there was another person out there somewhere that had done this. That stupid, aching and nagging question still at the back of his head though was once more pushed to the front. Who…

As he shifted, to face Ray again, Kain began to fuss quietly upstairs and he turned his attention back to the only one who was on his feet at the time.

"Kain's waking up." He said, getting Kai's attention.

"I'll get him." Ray went to stand when Tala waved him to sit back down.

"You stay, you go." Tala directed to Ray and then Kai respectively.

Kai rolled his eyes, but then again he felt he needed to go up there and see his son. Without a word to the other two he turned on his heels and left through the foyer to the stairs, the other two listening to him reach the landing and go into the nursery before Tala picked himself off the couch and settled beside Ray.

Throwing an arm over the back of the couch and Ray's shoulders, leaning into his left side some while resting his other hand over Ray's still flat stomach.

"How are you, I mean after all of this?" He asked quietly and happy to see and feel Ray relax beside him.

"It's still a lot, still a major mess." Ray sighed, "I called Lee from the village because of this." He said, resting his hand over Tala's hand that was on his stomach.

"He's Fused too, with Galeon. Unlike me though, he can harness Galeon's full powers." He continued, without really looking at Tala as his focus stayed on their hands.

Tala snorted beside him, "Then what was with all that thunder outside?"

Ray's head snapped up to him, "What thunder?"

"When you were slapping the shit out of Brooklyn, there was thunder outside and the entire house shook. Did you really not notice it?"

Ray's mouth dropped, "If that was me it'd be a first…" He muttered lowly, "What is it you can do?"

"My hearing and smell is heightened, I don't have Wolborg's full powers either. Kai though, as I'm sure you've guessed, has all of Dranzer's powers on top of being able to self-heal." Tala explained with a slight huff and playful eyeroll.

"Must be nice." Ray mused with a soft smirk, leaning into Tala's side more.

Finding the comfort there that they both wanted and needed, the love between the two still there even after everything. Caught up in the moment Tala pressed his face into the side of Ray's head, kissing him through his hair as he gripped around Ray's shoulders tighter as he felt him trying to pull away.

"Tal…" Ray pulled away this time, putting up a small distance between them as he shifted around to face him. There were tears in his eyes again that Tala didn't like seeing there, not after everything was starting to fall back into place.

"What's wrong Kit?" Tala asked in a soft voice, brushing back Ray's bangs from his face and tucking them behind his pointed ears.

"I'm the one… The one that killed Ian…" Ray's voice trembled, trying not to cry over it because he had no right to cry. "I didn't know… Didn't know it was him at the time, he went Savage… I just… I was just doing my job… But I am so, so sorry…"

Tala sat back a little ways from him, he had a feeling that's what had happened after everything had been laid out on the table. Though, as he himself and the others kept repeating in their heads through everything, there was nothing they could do about it.

"It wasn't your fault. He wouldn't have just turned Savage on his own though, so whoever is doing this changed him." Tala's voice still held its calm, soothing, tone as he wiped the fresh tears running down Ray's cheeks.

"You didn't know, didn't do anything wrong." Tala said as he took up Ray's hands in his, holding them gently as he brushed his thumbs over the tops Ray's.

"I've taken so much from you though…" Ray choked on another sob, shaking his head slowly.

"You've not taken anything away from me." Tala said as firmly as he could, gripping Ray's hands tighter. "I still have you; we still have Kai and Kain and now this one. And above all else, we're in this together for real now."

Ray nodded, calming down but didn't smile at his comforting words. "I'm still sorry…"

Tala rolled his eyes before he tugged Ray into him, kissing him hard on the mouth to stop him. Thinking of no better way than to shut him up while also mending the broken pieces themselves, reaffirming what they knew had been there all along.

Just as Ray leaned in further, deepening the kiss, he jerked back with a hiss as his stomach tightened to the point it felt as though someone had stabbed a knife into him and twisted the blade. Tala's eyes went wide as Ray fell forward, clutching his stomach as the pain came in waves.

"What's wrong?!" He all but yelled in a panic, holding Ray's shoulders as Ray began to breathe in heavily. His forehead resting against Tala's chest, trembling as sweat quickly formed on his brow and made his shirt cling to his back.

Ray's mouth opened to speak, his words getting cut off with a painful gasp as he pressed his hands harder into his stomach where the pain spread through his lower body and into his back. It was like a contraction but this early on, way too early on, it wasn't one and his face paled instantly. It was an all too familiar feeling, one he dreaded with all his being because once more he was fixing to take something away from Tala, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

"The baby…" He hissed out as another wave hit him, making his stomach tighten and the feeling of a knife in him twisting harder.

"KAI!" Tala screamed at the top of his lungs, making the two of them wince at his voice that rang in their ears.

It wasn't long until they heard Kai's ever growing footsteps racing down the stairs towards them, Tala shifting Ray closer to his chest where he held him around the back with his icy-blue eyes filled with tears this time.

It felt, in that moment, that Kai had swallowed his own heart as realization hit him hard in the chest. Shifting Kain on his hip as his son looked on with big crimson eyes, with no realization of what was happening.

* * *

The last time this happened Ray had been at the BBA; it was the only place he could think of to go to and especially now with Lee and Mariah there. Kai, the better put together of the two, was in the driver's seat speeding through traffic in the direction of the one place he was starting to dread in going to.

Ray had given them the address, through hisses and gasps of pain, as they had loaded him into the car. Tala sat in the back with him, Kain in his carrier between them as they had to take Kai's car. With the lurching and sudden stops that jerked the car, Ray heaved whatever his stomach decided needed to come out of him into a bag that he clutched onto tightly. Both his and Tala's nose curling at the overpowering stench, all four windows down but the smell lingered.

"Fourth floor..." Ray panted as his head rolled onto the back of the seat when the building came into view.

Kai nodded, doing as he commanded as Tala kept rubbing at his shoulders. Feeling them coil as another wave of nausea hit him, Ray leaning forward again only to dry heave into the bag.

"We're almost there Kit, everything'll be okay." Tala choked, though his words weren't as believable as he hoped them to be even for himself.

Kai found a spot near the elevators, throwing the car in park as Tala got out of the car at breakneck speed. Helping Ray out while Kai fished out their son from the back, Ray handing Tala his key-card they would need. His knees buckling as another wave hit him, the only thing that he could see as a good sign was there wasn't any blood. Yet.

"What floor?" Kai asked as the two stepped into the elevator before him, Kain in his carrier at his side.

"Top one…" Ray panted out hard, not sure who or what he should be clutching too tighter at the moment; the bag or Tala.

Kai and Tala made a noise under their breaths as Kai jabbed his finger into the button, the doors sliding close of the metal box before it began it's slow ascent up the shaft to the top floor.

The wait for it to reach the top wasn't as nerve wracking at it was when the three stepped out onto the floor, as several curious eyes clocked them coming through and a few already running off to get help as they caught sight of Ray coming through and leaning on Tala's side.

Before they got too far, the help they needed, they came to a standstill when Lee was promptly on the floor standing guard. Cracks of thunder could be heard outside, even for those who didn't have the sensitive hearing, and guns were drawn once more.

"Put it down Lee!" Ray yelled out, trying to get past the pain in his body to get his words out.

"The hell are you bringing _them_ _here_ for?! You're jeopardizing everything Ray!" Lee yelled back.

"Dammit Lee, this isn't the time!" Tyson, who had come down at some point beside him, shouted as he was looking nervously between the four of them and one of the four without a gun drawn.

"Can't you see something is wrong here, Ray needs help!" He continued, grabbing Lee's arm and pulling it down. "We'll figure this out_ after_ he's taken care of."

Lee exhaled a breath before he nodded, putting his gun away and stepped aside for the three. His yellow eyes locked on the other two as they stepped by, Ray holding his gaze until he had to look away from being ushered towards the medical hall.

Tyson released Lee's arm and followed after the other three, Lee only a few short steps behind them. He had just been shocked, scared, to have seen who he had believed was the enemy come up on their property. Not knowing all that had been solved earlier as Brooklyn hadn't returned, since he had left almost two hours ago.

Mariah had come back but she hadn't a clue as to where he had gone and she had yet to fully disclose all that had happened. They had all been too busy with the false information that they were still left to thumb through, while also trying to find out where Brooklyn had gone off to.

To him, to the others there, Kai and Tala were still the governments Lap Dogs regardless of who they were and what they meant to Ray. Brooklyn's vision, the one that he had kept from Ray but had shown Lee, flitted through his head as he became focused on the back of Kai's head as they finally reached the second floor landing. All he could see, from what Brooklyn had shown him, were those black wings coming out of Kai's back and the destruction he had caused with the unknown yet familiar woman.

Biting his tongue, the urge to grab his gun and put a stop to that vision, they reached the medical ward. Tala shoving himself through the doors and practically dragging Ray up to the desk, the woman sitting there gaped at the procession of people stepping into the small room that was neither a waiting area or anything big enough to hold that many people.

"Sir?!" The woman jumped from her chair; eyes wide. "What happened?"

Ray shook his head, "I don't know… I'm not bleeding but it hurts…" He said through grit teeth and in another painful pant.

The woman nodded feverishly, coming around to take hold of him and pried him from Tala's hold. "You will need to stay here."

Tala went to protest; how could he leave him?! Though paused when Kai put a hand down on his shoulder to stop him from going after the two, causing Tala to step back with him as they could only stay and watch Ray being led down another small hall to a room.

"He's going to be okay." Tyson said from behind them, finding the small space cramped; even if he had been in smaller accommodations the past three months.

"C'mon, all we can do is wait. They'll find us." Tyson said as he started out the door again, that was almost pressing into his back.

With no choice but to wait, with nowhere to go, Kai and Tala followed him back out into the hall where Lee had waited for them.

"Who let you go?" Kai asked, anything to drag their attention away from what might be happening behind that closed door now.

"Don't know, they came in and blindfolded me and then I was out on the streets. They didn't say a word to me, before or after they just up and left me." Tyson answered with a shrug.

"It was you that had him?!" Lee's pupils slit almost instantly, Tyson sighing out a breath and putting a hand on Lee's shoulder to calm him down.

Out of everything he didn't miss while on his small vacation, it was Lee's sure-fire temper that always seemed to flare under pressure.

"Yes, they had me but I'm fine. There's a lot to go over with this, but right now I think we should let them breathe for now." He said, letting his hand fall from Lee's shoulder once the other's pupils dilated.

"I'm going to guess you three figured it out already, right?" Tyson asked as he looked back at the other two who could only just nod at him, they really didn't want a recap of everything that had already been said but it was clear there were others still in the dark.

"Alright, all we can do is wait so might as well make the most of it." Tyson waved them on to follow him, for once being the only levelheaded out of the entire group it seemed and started the trek to Ray's office.

None were sure how long they had sat, discussing it all over again to the point all four men were getting headaches, when Ray finally found them in his office. The second the door had opened, Tala's head pounding too hard to have sensed him coming, the others attention went directly to him and he gave them a weak smile as he came into the room.

The air stilled as the door closed behind him, only stopping at Kai's side and taking Kain from him who was busy gnawing on a toy, taking their son to his desk and sitting down behind it. Kain, none the wiser, leaned back into Ray's chest as his father placed his chin down on the top of his son's head. Keeping his eyes forward at the others at the round table sitting in the middle of the room, clearly waiting for the shoe to drop but at the moment he wasn't sure which one it was.

"Everything's fine, there was no bleeding and the heartbeat is strong. It was just cramping due to stress, but they want me on bed rest for a while." His voice cut through the tension like a knife, all the other four exhaling deep breaths though before any of them could speak Ray's mouth opened again.

"As for what we're fixing to do, I think it's best for you two to keep up the charade of being the governments Lap Dogs. We've already figured out that someone, other than ourselves, has been responsible for all of this. Our best bet, in figuring out who, is for you two to stay where you can keep an eye out on your end.

"Before that, I want both of you to make a report just so we have it. From start to finish, that includes the Orlando Incident." Ray finished, his voice calm though commanding as his eyes shifted between his partners collectively until they stopped on Kai and watched him take in another deep inhale.

"I want everything, down to the last detail. On top of the reports I want names, what they do and who they are and how long they've been there."

"We'll need Bryan for that." Tala spoke up, slightly swiveling in his chair beside Kai.

Ray expressed his own deep sigh, "Fine… Is he?" He kept his focus on Tala now, ignoring the involuntary shiver running down his back.

"No, he had too great of a potential to go Savage. Spencer is and Ian was, there are or _were_ others that had been but after the first Worlds we don't have tabs on them." Tala explained, "And Spencer hasn't been in the field since Orlando."

Ray nodded at the information being given to him, "Put that in the report, just so that way it's on record." He said and then looked past Tala and Kai at Lee and Tyson on the very end of the round table.

"You two have been brought up to speed?"

"Yup." Tyson grinned while Lee nodded, the lion's arms crossed over his chest.

"And how are you?" Ray asked as he kept his eyes on Tyson next, pulling his son closer to his chest.

"Shouldn't worry about me so much Ray, I'm fine." Tyson said, his grin unwavering. "But I really should call my wife, let her know I'm alive." He shifted out of his chair, Ray giving him another nod so he could do that.

"It's good to have you back Ty, make sure you let Max and Kenny know too."

"Will do boss." Tyson waved back at them as he left the room, closing the door behind him and throwing the room into another momentary silence.

"It's late, you should get some rest Lee." Although Ray was talking to him, his eyes had gone down to Kain on his lap. Playing with the small tuft of hair on the top of his head, quietly purring and feeling Kain's small body vibrating back and finally a smile cracked along his face.

"If you think that's best." Lee answered with a bite in his tone, regardless of all that had been discussed and brought to the front. He still didn't trust the other two, not with that vision coming back to him every time he looked at Kai and Kain.

Ray's eyes darted up, forgetting what a chore it was to have him around at times. The others always followed whatever he asked or commanded, Lee liked to throw his weight sometimes because of his status as Head Elder.

"I think it's best that everyone gets enough rest, we don't know what's to come now and we need to be ready. Especially if there are more Savages like we saw today." Ray bit back in a growl, his pupils quivering slightly in challenge at the other neko-jin.

"Are you staying here?" Lee asked in a more calm tone, seeing the challenge and backing down.

"Yes, they want to monitor me so I'll be here." Ray answered as he too brought his voice back to a neutral tone, "Get some rest now."

Lee had nothing else to say to him and did as Ray said, pushing himself away from the table and out of his chair. Leaving the other three men in the office alone, the doors once more closing and throwing the room into another stilled silence.

Ray leant back into his chair, shifting Kain around to put them chest to chest as he held him close. His purring was quiet enough the other two couldn't hear it, even Tala at the moment, while Kain's was hardly noticeable now at all. His small fingers clutching his toy while his other hand went into Ray's hair, resting his face on Ray's shoulder.

"How soon do you think you two can have those reports?" Ray asked as the silence became too much to bear between them.

"By tomorrow morning, if we work on them all night." Tala said, fighting the smile that was wanting to break along his face.

Despite everything that had happened he was happy to see they were all okay, that they would be okay, and their family was still intact and most importantly Ray and their unborn child was okay on top of everything else.

Ray shook his head some, "You'll need to rest too, just get them done when you can."

Finally the smile Tala had been fighting back cracked, "Yes Sir."

Ray rolled his eyes, trying hard not to smile back but it was harder to do seeing Kai cracking his own smile between the three of them.

"And you always said you wouldn't be good at leading people." Kai said fondly.

"Yeah, well I'm missing two people. So, must not be _that_ good at it." Ray huffed, "Seven to six floors down are rooms that you can stay in for the night, unless you two wanted to go back home."

"If you're staying, we're staying." Tala said quickly, "We're still benched for a week anyways." He shrugged his shoulders.

Ray's lips upturned into a smirk that showed his fangs, "I'll find you two later then."

"Why don't you come with us now?" Kai asked.

"Because I need to get through some files, track down my two missing men and then figure out what the next step is going to be." Ray answered with a huff, "And then go back to do another ultrasound in two hours."

Tala seemed to perk some, "Aside from heartbeat an no blood, how many?" He asked with a grin.

"Just one." Ray chuckled slightly, "Also, seems I'm further along than I had thought originally. I'll be three months apparently next week, based on the measurements."

Both Tala and Kai's eyebrows rose in unison, Ray not missing the slight jealousy seeping through Tala's pores at the prospect of him not being the father again.

"It's yours, that much I do know." Ray affirmed, smirking as Tala fist bumped the air.

"Just don't stay up too late then Kit." Tala said as he stood up from his chair, going around Ray's desk to kiss him since he could clearly see they weren't going to get him to bed with them.

"I'll find you when I'm done." Ray reaffirmed as he kissed Tala, getting Kain taken from his arms by him. "Tenth floor down there's a cafeteria, if you two get hungry."

"Sounds good, love you." Tala kissed him one last time before he pulled himself away, carrying Kain over to the doors to wait for Kai who had gotten up to give Ray his own goodbye.

Instead of just kissing him goodbye Kai picked up Ray's hands and turned them over, kissing the palms of them where the faded burn marks were. Ray swallowed the lump in his throat at the gesture, at the implication behind that, and pulled him down to kiss Kai on the mouth.

"Love you both, I'll see you in a few hours." Ray said once he and Kai pulled away, Kai nodding back to him and joining Tala at the doors with the diaper bag slung over his shoulder.

"Oh." He called for them before they slipped out, "Don't go shooting any of my men, please. I know Lee is hard to get around, but he means well."

Tala and Kai exchanged amused glances and smirks with each other before they turned back to Ray across the room. "We'll do our best." Tala said.

Ray rolled his eyes at them, of course. "Love you."

"Love you too." They said back before they slipped out of the room.

Then they were gone, after another minute of slight hesitation, before the doors swung behind them and leaving Ray finally alone in his office that suddenly seemed bigger than it ever had before. The silence, although welcomed after the long day, felt different now and he didn't know why.

Through the files he had opened on his desk to start going through, his eyes shifted away to the corner of the room where Kain's carrier had been left. Something about looking at it, empty and almost abandoned made his stomach twist in a terrible knot that he didn't have an explanation for nor the tears that wanted to come to his eyes without warning the longer he looked at it.

Tearing his attention away from the empty carrier he pulled his phone out, going to Brooklyn's number without hesitation only to get his voicemail.

"You need to come back,_ please_ come back… I-I need you here, because I can't-can't do this without you."


	13. Chapter 13

**THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE! I swear, a lot of times it's hard to think of what to do next for a chapter but getting your reviews and talking to ya'll really does help. Once more, big shout out to Bird for giving me this great idea between Ray and Tala at the start. Thank you everyone I may have whined and complained to while trying to write this chapter out, took me longer than I had hoped for but here it is. FINALLY.  
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**Lemon? Lime? Something? In the mix here, nothing too great or too special but it's there. **

**We also finally get to see, first hand, that vision Brooklyn has been keeping from Ray. Really excited to see ya'lls reactions to that. I'll stop rambling so you can carry on. Enjoy! **

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Ray's ears perked at the sound of his office door opening; his head too heavy to lift from where it had fallen down on the folds of his arms. Not even realizing he had fallen asleep at his desk, unaware of the time either, but became aware of the familiar smell of Tala coming into the office.

"What's wrong?" Ray muttered out sleepily, forcing his eyes open and his head to lift.

"It's three in the morning and you're still in here." Tala said as he placed his hands on his hips, "Come to bed Kit."

Ray shook his head, "I'm not done yet." He said through a yawn, his fangs glistening in the low light of the room.

Tala breathed out a sigh, there wasn't a way to get him to the room he and Kai acquired for the night without physically dragging him, and he didn't want to do that for fear of harming him or the baby.

"How much longer than?"

Ray glanced down at the three files he had open on his desk, not even sure which one it was he had been going through last. "Maybe an hour."

"Alright." Tala sighed back and turned on his heel, shutting the door behind him to leave Ray in there alone.

Back six floors down he found his and Kai's room, slipping in the room quietly though there was no reason to. The seasoned father was still trying to console his son, who had not once laid down and slept since they found the room. Kain's crying was to the point it was almost deafening and heartbreaking, neither of them had been able to console him and had half hoped getting Ray into the room would have helped; how they weren't sure but it had been worth a shot.

"He was asleep, at his desk but said he still had things to go through." Tala huffed as he made himself comfortable on the corner of the bed, watching Kai pacing in circles while gently bouncing Kain in his arms.

Kai expressed an irritated grunt, "Typical." He growled out. "He needs to rest, should have just dragged him in here."

"I thought about it." Tala answered almost dryly; his own pale skin marred by dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.

"Do you want me to try?" Tala asked after he and Kai had gone silent, the only noise in the room was Kain's crying as his tiny fists clutched to Kai's hair and shirt.

"If I can't get him to stop, you won't be able to get him to stop." Kai said, not having meant to come off the way it had. He was running on no sleep as well, his nerves had yet to replace themselves after the day they all had experienced and now he was dealing with a teething baby that didn't want anything to do with him.

Tala only nodded, he understood in a sense. If Kai couldn't Kain to calm down, it was a miracle if any of them could. Then, like a switch, there was an idea in his head that made him grin in a way that would have given him a cross look if Kai was paying attention to him.

"I'll be right back."

Kai hardly heard him, still busy with his restless son and practically begging him to just sleep so they all could. The door to the room closing, leaving him there again to deal with Kain on his own.

Back up on the top floor Tala strutted his way back to Ray's office, throwing the door open as he reached it with the grin still plastered over his tired face. Ray jumped at the sudden intrusion, the lack of sleep and his mind being all over the place at once hindering him from paying attention to anything else around him.

"Was curious, what have you thought about names?" Tala went off before Ray could properly recollect himself, or the paper he had been holding that was now upside down on the top of his desk.

"What?" Ray blinked at him.

"For the baby, have you thought of names?"

Ray just arched a brow as he stared across the room at him, "No." He said dully with a pointed stare. Of all the times Tala wanted to come in and talk about their child, now wasn't a good one.

"I've been a bit busy, Tal." He gestured at the files on his desk, flipping the paper he had been going over around.

Tala only nodded some, "Well I don't think we can put our names together like you did for Kain, that would be too much I think."

"Tala." Ray barked, "Look, we'll talk about the baby later. Okay?" He asked in almost a slight whine.

Tala held his grin and nodded, "Okay Kit, hurry up cus we miss you."

Ray only nodded, his attention back on the paper in his hands as Tala closed the door. His mind going back to the paper for a bit longer until he finished reading through it, setting it down and picking up the next one with another tired breath.

Tala waited a few minutes outside the door, giving Ray a second or two more before he threw the door back open. This time Ray let out a small growl at the intrusion, putting his paper down on his desk and lacing his fingers over the top of it as he gave Tala a glare. Waiting patiently for him to speak, which didn't take long before Tala opened his mouth.

"I was wondering if we should just keep the baby in my room, let Kain keep his room and all."

Ray rubbed at his face, "Tala… Please. I'm busy right now."

"Yeah I know, but with you further along than what we thought we should be preparing. It'll go by fast; you know this." Tala countered.

"I don't care, if you want the baby in your room that's fine." Ray waved off, just to get him to leave him alone.

"Okay." Tala grinned with a nod, slipping back out of the room.

Just as the door began to close Ray picked back up the next piece of paper, only to drop it as the door opened and hit the wall behind it.

"Think we can convince Kai to carpet the downstairs? Once they start walking we don't want them to crack their heads on the tile."

"Talk to him about it!" Ray fired back.

"Would they be getting my last name or yours?" Tala asked.

"I don't know! I don't care Tala!" Ray groaned out, "Please, go to bed or something."

Tala only nodded back, feigning leaving by turning slightly only to turn back around again. "What about schooling? Should we look for private school or public?"

Ray's pupils slit, shoving himself away from his desk roughly and stalked over to Tala. There was no way he'd be able to work if he kept bugging him and sadly there were no locks on his doors. He grabbed his red-haired lover by the arm, intent on dragging his ass out and back to the room so he could pawn him off on Kai.

Tala just grinned the entire way, letting Ray pull him to the elevator. "Six floors down, room 20."

Ray didn't acknowledge him as he jabbed the button with his free hand, not letting Tala's arm go and waited the few minutes it took for the elevator to come up to the top floor. The doors sliding open before them, Ray jerking Tala into the small metal box and jabbing the button for the floor they were on. Tala made himself comfortable on his feet, leaning into Ray's side a little and feeling him lean back into him some as if he didn't he'd collapse from fatigue.

Six floors down the elevator doors opened, Ray tugging Tala by the arm though this time there wasn't as much force. Leading his grinning lover down the hall with doors on either side of them, reminiscent to a hotel. They were there for those who just needed to crash, some of his men even lived there full time; Brooklyn being one of them. They had enough rooms for everyone, which meant there were a good forty on each level.

As they reached room 20 the two could hear Kain's crying through the walls and door, Ray's stomach dropping with guilt. They were all tired, stressed, the last thing any of them needed was for his son to be up this late in a full blown crying fit.

He opened the door, getting the full blown sound of his son's cries that made his ears ring and no doubt it was bothering Kain's own sensitive hearing at the same time.

Kai turned to them, stopping short of his pacing. "Do something, please." He practically begged.

Ray removed his hand from Tala's arm, letting the red-head shut the door behind them as he stepped up to Kai where Kain was promptly dropped into his awaiting and outstretched arms.

"That's enough now, you're okay." Ray cooed in a low, tired voice as he pulled Kain against his chest. Purring gently, sending the soft and calming vibrations through him to Kain.

Kain hiccuped some, his crying still present as it began to lessen. Curling himself under Ray's chin, his fingers gripping around the hair that fell around Ray's shoulders.

"There we go." Ray sighed out tiredly, slowly rocking back and forth where he stood.

Kai ran a hand through his hair, letting out his own tired breath. Tala had stayed against the door, as if he was blocking Ray's only chance of escape, with a smug smile on his face and his arms over his chest.

"I tried everything." Kai said, finding the corner of the bed closest to where Ray was standing and sat down.

"It's okay." Ray reassured, "It's just him teething, and he's tired. I'm surprised you couldn't get him to calm down though." He chuckled some.

Kai could only nod; back when they had first brought Kain home he was the only one to ever get him to calm down through his fits.

"Probably just needed you this time."

Ray's heart clenched for a reason unknown to himself, only nodding back to him as Kain's body relaxed against his chest and the last of his small shuddering gasps were over with. The babe finally fast asleep against Ray's shoulder, his own low and subtle purring vibrating his tiny frame.

At one point one of the other two had to have gone home, because set up in the corner of the room was Kain's playpen. Ray placing him in it, taking the blanket and covering his son up once he turned over on his stomach.

"Did you two eat?" Ray asked once he turned back around to face them, Kai still on the corner of the bed and Tala by the door blocking it.

"We did, you?" Kai asked, making sure to talk quietly in fear of waking their now sleeping son.

"I did." Ray huffed a breath, eyeing Tala by the door again and realizing he was now trapped in the room with them.

"Guess I'll just go shower." He settled on, moving to the door that stood across from the bed, in no mood to try and get past Tala and now that Kai was there he'd potentially try to stop him just the same. It wasn't worth the fuss, not when he could see they both were just as tired as he was.

Once the bathroom door was shut and Tala could hear the water kick on he moved away from his post, tossing off his shoes once he got to the side of the bed. Kai fell back from his spot on the corner, toeing off his own shoes and letting them just drop to the floor without a real care.

When Tala had gone back home briefly he had packed what they needed for a night's stay, though that was all they were planning on doing. It was just one night, the first night in almost a week now that they were all together again since the entire mess spiraled out of their control.

With his shoes off, Tala reached around himself to peel off his shirt before throwing himself back to lay on the bed. His head almost touching Kai's now where they lay, sprawled out on the bed with their legs and feet hanging off the ends but too tired to care or move much more than that as their weight settled into the firm mattress.

"Wonder how much this all cost Dickenson to do in the end." Tala mused quietly.

"Probably his life savings and then some." Kai scoffed quietly back.

"What do you think is going to happen, to all this, once everything is done with?" Tala asked quietly, turning his head just enough he was now staring at the side of Kai's head.

Kai's shoulders barely moved in the shrug he had attempted to do. "Depends what the end goal here is, aside from figuring out the Savage mess."

"Do you think it can really be done, reversing the process?" Tala asked as he finally found the energy to move, rolling over on his stomach though his legs still hung off the side of the bed.

"If it's something Max and Kenny have been working on, then likely. Throw Emily in the mix, then definitely."

"I called Bry and Spence, on the way to the house. Told them to show up tomorrow at the house, and that we'd meet them there to go through everything." Tala informed, fighting his eyes from slipping closed.

Kai made a noise to let him know he heard him, his eyes already shut and his hands placed over his chest as sleep was inching closer for him. Though something he had been keeping on his mind made him shift, almost uncomfortably where he lay and his eyes opened again.

"I didn't mean to…"

Tala gave him a questioning look for a minute until it seemed to click in his head what Kai was talking about. A soft smile coming his lips, crawling himself the few inches across the bed to reach him and placed his smiling lips on Kai's forehead.

"It wasn't your fault." He said quietly against Kai's warm, pale skin.

"I could have lost you that night…" Kai breathed back, his head turning to take in his son asleep in the playpen in the corner of the room. "All three of you."

"It's alright, maybe if this reversal thing can be done… Maybe we can go through it?"

Kai's head snapped back to him, "Is that what you want?"

"Since I've learned about it, that it might be possible, yeah. Why not? I've been putting a lot of thought into it, actually. Just one less thing that Boris did to us and if it works, then I no longer have to live with it." Tala explained, fondly playing with the slate bangs of his lover laid down in front of him as he spoke in a low, soft tone.

"And for you, it'd get rid of Him."

Kai held Tala's eyes with his own, not breaking the contact as he thought it over while his stomach sank. That only confirmed it, Brooklyn had really shown him what had happened and now Tala knew about the one and only thing he had ever tried to hide from him.

Then, like the past few days, that night came rolling back to him; the fire, the smoke, the destruction, and the lives that he had taken all because he had lost control. If there was a way to cure and undo what had been done years ago, it was worth a shot at best.

"Don't… Don't tell Ray yet…"

Tala frowned a little, he hated keeping secrets from him and if going by what had just happened in the few hours was anything to go by; it wasn't a good idea to keep things from him again.

"I won't, _you_ _will_." Tala said with a more pointed stare, hoping for once Kai would listen to him.

Kai nodded some, frowning more at himself and the idea of it but knew it had to be done. He'd be able to put it down in his report that Ray had asked for, that would be easier than trying to explain it to him face to face.

"For Tyson they'd have to make a pill or something though, no needle is going to get through that skin of his." Tala chuckled quietly, just to lift the mood as he could physically feel it dropping around them again.

"Back of the neck."

Kai and Tala sat up from where they laid as Ray stepped back into the room, the steam from the bathroom spilling into the small room as he ran a towel through his hair with another wrapped around his hips. Going for the bag that Tala had brought from the house, sat up on the small table by the window just shy of where Kain's playpen was set up in the corner.

"What do you mean?" Tala asked.

"Tyson, the back of his neck is the only soft spot he has… And well…" Ray explained, hoping they'd figure the other part on their own. "Everything else though, it's armored." He said as he fished out his clothes from the bag, forgoing getting fully dressed since he was just going to sleep now and pulled his boxers on under his towel.

"Would have been nice to know that." Kai grumbled under his breath.

"It's a small patch though, right where his hair line is at the base of his skull." Ray finished, taking the towels back into the bathroom and cutting the light from inside before coming back to stand at the end of the bed.

"I was actually going through the files on the reversal program, before I was interrupted." Ray started, giving Tala a slight glare as he moved away to give room for Ray on the bed.

"So far, everything is coming along right. We'll be able to really start the trials in a day or two at best." He finished, crawling onto the bed with the other two and going straight for the headboard and pillows.

Rolling on his back, hoping sleep would come to him quickly but after his shower he felt more awake. Though his muscles relaxed on him as his body sunk into the bed, Tala coming up on his left and Kai on his right with him. It was going to be a tight fit, but he was happy they were both there.

Tala's eyes raked over him slowly, being propped on his own side with the side of his head in the palm of his hand, until they stopped at Ray's midsection.

"You are pretty far along, look at this cute little pudge." He said in a higher pitched tone, gently rubbing the small swell of Ray's stomach.

Ray let out a small growl, pushing Tala's hand away from him. "Don't call me fat."

"That's not what I did." Tala chuckled, putting his hand back over Ray's stomach. "You always did look cute pregnant."

"You're not helping." Ray grumbled, his eyes falling closed on him finally and let Tala's hand rub at his stomach.

"This is why you should have wrapped it better." Kai quietly muttered, dragging the other two's attention towards him.

"I told you, we _did_." Ray bit out, his eyes open again and narrowed in a glare.

"What_ is_ your problem with this, aside from the whole Savage mess?" Tala asked, his own eyes narrowed as he stared over Ray's head at their other lover.

Ray smirked a little, "He's jealous."

Tala did a double take between the man laying beside him and the one on the other side of the bed, Kai wasn't looking at them now as if he didn't want to be the center of their conversation.

"You said you don't get jealous." Tala teased in a mocking voice.

"He also lies." Ray interjected humorously, his smirk getting wider where a fang slipped over his lower lip. "Isn't that right baby?" He said in his own mocking tone, nudging Kai in the side with his elbow.

Kai could only roll his eyes at the two of them even though they were right, but he didn't have an excuse for either on why he was, when he knew he had no right to be. He already had a child; it was Tala that had always wanted kids and he was the lucky one to have that first. He had always told himself it would happen eventually for the other two, something he was sure he had made peace with a long time ago, yet the jealousy was still there; unwanted and not who he normally was.

"Ohhh, so you do get jealous of us?" Tala teased again, smirking even though Kai wasn't looking.

Ray went to say something else, liking this lighter mood that had found the three of them and reveling in the familiarity of being between them like nothing had happened, when Tala tilted his head back around to face him and crashed their lips together.

Ray startled before he settled and relaxed, letting Tala kiss him and purred gently when the fingers on his jaw slipped up into his still damp hair around the back of his head and pointed ear.

Kai stiffened and against his better judgement turned to look beside him again, frowning hard before he found himself enjoying the sight. With two clearly occupied either intent on making him more jealous, or turned on, he took the bait they had laid out for him. Using the arm that was free he reached out, grabbing Ray's crotch in a firm hold. Causing Ray's hips to buck up and a louder moan to break through the kiss he and Tala had been in, pulling away so he could send a glare at their dual-haired lover.

"Excuse you."

"What?" Kai mocked him with his own glare, his hand not moving away from Ray's crotch as he grabbed him again more tenderly.

Ray bit into his lip, fighting hard not to give Kai the satisfaction of a noise coming from him or to let on that he was turning him on just as Tala had been. Said red-head looked between the two, his own coy smirk winding it's way up his pale lips until he clocked the playpen nestled in the corner of the dark room.

"Actually, should we with Kain over there?"

Kai looked back over his shoulder, Kain was down and out for the count. "Not like he hasn't been around before, also just means you two are going to have to be quiet."

"It's four in the morning." Ray interjected. As much as he didn't mind the idea of them sleeping together, he was still tired and they all needed the sleep for the long days ahead of them.

"We've gone through nights without sleep before." Kai shrugged slightly, "You two started this." He reminded, his crimson eyes darting from one to the other.

"I'm just going to finish it."

Both Tala and Ray felt a shiver run through them at that, Ray's lips finally breaking out into a smirk to match those of his lovers.

"Then by all means."

Kai took that as the go-ahead, rolling himself over Ray's body and settling between his legs. Tala moving around Ray's body to make himself more comfortable to lay beside him in order to kiss him, though they were both stopped when Ray put a hand on Tala's chest.

"I can't… Take that is, because of the cramping earlier."

Tala and Kai looked between each other; it wasn't often that Ray _wasn't_ on the receiving end when it was the three of them, but with how tired they knew he was they weren't sure if he'd be any more fit to give than take at the moment.

"And I didn't bring anything, now that I think about it." Tala mused quietly.

Kai rolled his eyes, "You two are hopeless, you know this right?"

"Aw, is someone_ frustrated_?"

Kai gave another glare in Tala's direction, "You started this." He reminded with another senseless jab at the two of them, hooking his fingers in the elastic band to Ray's boxers.

"Kai." Ray went to stop him, putting his hands over Kai's before he could disrobe him.

"We have mouths." Kai reminded as if he needed to, jerking the red piece of clothing off Ray's hips and setting him free.

Ray and Tala went to exchanging glances between each other next before shrugging, Kai wasn't wrong and a good blow didn't seem like that bad of an idea at the moment. Before either had the chance to voice their opinions on the matter Ray's eyes screwed shut on him, a gasp passing his lips as his head went further back into the pillow. Kai wasting no time in putting his mouth around him, already working the stiffening organ with a hunger like aggression.

Not one to be left out, of anything, Tala put his and Ray's lips back together. Moving himself close enough to Ray's body they about touched, finding his hand and guiding it to his own already hardened cock that was straining through his pants.

Ray blindly worked his hand against him, trying to focus on both kissing Tala back and what Kai was currently doing between his legs. Without wanting to disrupt the rhythm the three of them were finding on the small bed, he twisted around some to set Tala free. An urgency to get this done and over with so they could just go to sleep, while also needing and wanting Tala in his own mouth.

Breaking the kiss that left their minds filled with nothing but static, Tala kicked his legs free from his pants. Shifting himself up on his knees closer to the headboard of the bed and Ray's awaiting mouth, holding himself until Ray wrapped his lips around him. Going to holding the edge of the wooden headboard so he didn't fall on top of him, or worse, suffocate Ray on himself.

There was a soft moan that made its way through Tala's throat, trying to remind himself to keep it down for fear of waking the baby in the corner of the room, around the same time Ray let out his own muffled one. Trying his best to work the cock in his mouth at the odd angle his head was turned in, feeling a slight strain up the side of it. After the first muffled moan broke through, another longer one followed suit as Kai's mouth went further down on him and his hips rose off the bed slightly.

With a pop Kai pulled away, cracking his jaw some as he had worked Ray enough that he was starting to throb between his own legs. Crawling off the end of the bed he finally set himself free of his restrictive clothing, peeling his shirt off before climbing back onto the bed between Ray's legs. With a bit of spit on the palm of his hand, he took hold of both of them to work them against each other with quick, slow, and powerful pumps.

The hand that was free gripped at the sheets, the other squeezing the base of Tala's cock as he pulled him in further to the back of his throat. Tala's head went back, his nails clipping the wood of the headboard he was using for support as he felt his body wanting to jerk and fall forward on him.

Even if they had wanted to drag it out for as long as they could, hold back their releases with every part of their being because they hadn't had this in almost a week, their peaks hit collectively and quickly without much warning. They couldn't really blame one or the other, or themselves, it had been too long, their bodies were exhausted, but that extra push was something they all needed as they already felt more drained now.

With a ragged breath, having lost some of the air in his lungs from holding back any and all noise, Tala bent down and wiped the bit of his release from the corners of Ray's lips before giving him a gentle peck. Shifting himself back down to lay beside him, pulling the covers over himself, while Kai used his shirt to clean up the mess he and Ray had made against their stomachs and chests. Climbing his way to the head of the bed, sandwiching Ray between them again and getting the rest of the covers out from under them and placing it over the top.

Ray took in his own heavy breath, slowing his heart rate down as his eyes were already starting to close on him. Reveling in the familiar warmth he found between the two, enjoying the lasting tingles that radiated up and down his body until his mind became numb to it all as he relaxed into the bed.

What should have been a peaceful, much needed, sleep it was anything but for the three. Despite their eyes having been closed, neither were really asleep in the sense. They laid there, unmoving, breathing shallow and deep breaths, but sleep evaded them. The sun had made it's appearance and with it, bits and parts of it seeped through the curtains of the room, the first to crack open their eyes was the eight month old in the playpen at the corner of the room.

The second he was up on his tiny, chubby, legs and had a firm hold on the top of his bed he let out a loud scream from the tips of his tiny toes to the top of his head.

Tala's eyes were the second to snap open, being startled by the sudden scream and mind alert as his heart raced; it sounded like a fire alarm had gone off without warning.

Ray shifted, his ears ringing as he pushed himself up to sit on the bed. Kai's hand that had been over his chest slipping down to rest on his lap, though he feigned sleep just so he wouldn't have to get up at the moment.

"Did you bring him food?" Ray asked as he turned his attention on Tala on his left.

"Yeah, in his bag." Tala answered as he flipped the covers off himself, crawling off the bed and grabbing his own bag from the table while sending a small glare at the baby in the playpen who gave him a small toothy grin and a few gurgles of excitement.

"Oh don't give me that look." Tala huffed as he took the bag with him to the bathroom, hoping a shower would help settle his frazzled nerves and wake him up. They had a long day to get through, and with the rude awakening his fuse had been cut in half and he was going to have to deal with Bryan in a few hours.

"And he wants one of these." Kai mumbled, shifting himself around on the bed to face his son as Ray crawled himself off the bed.

"I'm gonna have to leave you two for a bit." Ray said as he had plucked his cellphone out his pants pocket and had checked the missed calls log.

Kai just nodded to him, there wasn't a point in trying to stop him when he knew this was Ray's job and what he needed to do.

Ray grabbed the clothes he had set out the night before, quickly slipping them on and running a brush through his hair as fast as he could to look somewhat presentable at the moment despite the dark circles under his eyes. He tied his hair back in a low ponytail, giving Kai a quick kiss before rushing out the door of the room.

The second the door closed, Kain's big red eyes filled with tears and his bottom lip trembled. Kai let out a sigh, forcing himself to get up and dressed just before the water works really hit.

"We aren't doing this again, you're fine." Kai huffed as he plucked Kain from the playpen, gathering what he needed to change and then feed him before laying the wiggling baby down on the bed.

Halfway through feeding him Tala finally emerged from the bathroom, though he felt anything but refreshed when he noticed it was just Kai and Kain in the room.

"He's already gone?"

"Yup." Kai answered without looking at him, trying to get Kain to eat another spoonful of mashed up bananas from the jar.

"Perfect." Tala huffed, shoving the clothes that had been left on the floor into the bag to get them ready to leave and go back home.

As Kai finished feeding his son, Tala had broken down the playpen and got everything put into a pile together in order to make it easier to get everything down to the car again until he realized they were missing something.

"Left his carrier in Ray's office. I'll be right back." He said, already heading for the door to go and get it.

On the top floor, stepping out of the elevator he could hear just how busy and alive the place had become during the day. There were more smells of other people in the air now, conversations that only he could hear behind closed doors as he made his way closer to Ray's office.

Something in the air, a smell, stopped him in his tracks barely halfway down the hall. It hit him unlike the others, but he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from or where it had gone or exactly why he recognized it. There were too many different scents all at once, messing with his senses at the moment but could feel his gut twist uncomfortably like he knew something wasn't right; he just didn't know what at the moment.

Shaking himself out of it, he continued on towards Ray's office only to stop again when a pink flash of light shot down the hall and stopped just before the two smacked into each other.

"There you are, here Ray wanted me to bring this down to you two." Mariah said as she held up Kain's carrier for him. "He's in a meeting, so I'm afraid you can't go in right now."

Tala just blinked at her a few times before he took the offered carrier into his own hands, the scent that had made him stop earlier almost pouring out from Mariah but once again it was mixed with all sorts of others. Rendering him useless in pinpointing where, or who, it was he had smelled before.

"Alright, thanks." He nodded and turned on his heel to leave her, there wasn't a reason to stay longer since he and Kai had to do their part now; anything to lessen the stress on Ray's shoulders.

"Don't tell Spencer, just yet." Mariah called after him.

Tala stopped again, looking back at her over his shoulder. "He already knows."

Mariah's face fell slightly, "When we had the leak…" She muttered under her breath.

Tala nodded again at her, "If it helps any, he's Fused too."

Mariah nodded back to him, giving him a small wave before she turned on her own heel and in another bright pink flash of light, she was gone back the way she had come from.

Tala watched her go, able to barely hear her feet hitting the floor as she went at light speed until the sound of what he assumed was Ray's office doors opening and closing. Heading back to the elevator, carrier at his side, he went off on his own path to collect Kai and Kain in order to go home.

With the momentary pause of the office doors opening and closing, Mariah stepping into the room and taking her spot back in the corner where Kain's carrier had been left the night prior, Ray's eyes slit went from her and back to the woman he had been berating since she had appeared in his office. Her stench once more overpowering, and although he had been yelling at her the moment he had stepped into the room himself, Anette wore nothing but a simple smile on her painted red lips.

"If it wasn't for Dickenson trusting you, I would have thrown your ass out of here years ago!" Ray picked up from where he had left off, standing behind his desk his both hands keeping himself upright.

Tyson and Max stood in the other corner of the room, their arms behind their backs and both biting back their own smiles. They never cared for the woman, she was always hit and miss when it came to taking their missions seriously and it was about time Ray had opened his eyes to that. Lee stood behind Ray, taking Brooklyn's place as second in command as the red-head had yet to return to the BBA.

"With all due respect, Director, you wouldn't have come as far as you all have without me. Remember, it was I who made sure you were stationed here to start with." Anette said coolly, barely batting an eye in his direction.

"And yet, you have failed in the one thing I needed you to do the most! I needed you to find out information on the Lap Dogs and you failed, Anette! Only for me to find out that they have been my partners of three years." Ray fired back at her, his pupils getting thinner in his anger.

"And to me that sounds more like a personal problem." Anette shrugged back, "I did all I could for you, it's not my fault that they were disloyal partners this whole time. Then again, you've been no different either. Now have you?"

Ray clenched his teeth, his claws raking against the finish on the top of his desk. "We ALL took an oath, to not disclose what we were doing and who we had become!"

"Then I still fail to see how this is my fault, Director."

There was an uneasy silence that filled the space of the office, no one quite sure what to say or how to react now. It didn't help that he had been trying to work on little to no sleep, again, but acting out like this was just causing another rift between him and his men that they didn't need.

Then again, if she had just answered him about where she had been the past few days when he had first asked, he wouldn't have needed to get this angry with her. With a slight growl in the back of his throat, Ray straightened himself back from his desk and fell back into his chair behind him.

"I'll ask again, where were you?" He bit out, narrowing his eyes at the woman stood in the middle of his office.

"I'll tell you again, that is for me to know."

"Then what good are you to me, to us?!" Ray shot back, slamming his fist on the table and out in the distance the three that had the heightened senses could hear the sound of thunder overhead.

"I am still useful, to all of this, you just fail to see that at the moment because you're scared." Anette answered in that same, calm tone that felt more as though she was patronizing him.

Ray scoffed at her, ready to say something back when she beat him to it.

"If you wish to know where Brooklyn is, I can tell you."

Ray stared at her for a moment, through everything that he had fired off at her and the back and forth they had seemed to be doing for what felt like hours now, this was her bargaining chip?

Part of him knew he needed the information; Brooklyn hadn't returned his call and nobody else had heard from him or seen him since the day before. He could handle himself, that wasn't the issue but more of Ray needing him because he was useless to them all and Brooklyn was the strongest out of everyone there combined.

"Then tell me." He bit out almost snobbishly, his upper lip curling back slightly in a snarl.

Anette's own lips curled up into a smile, "I'm sure if you look high enough, you'll find him." She spoke vaguely, turning on her high heels and swiftly swept out of the room. Her long dark-blue hair swishing behind her lower back as she went, her head held high as if nothing was the matter.

She only paused, hands on the handles of the doors and glanced at Mariah on her right with a slight glare that Mariah matched with her own pointed stare back. Anette smiled at her, throwing the doors open and stepping out of the office with a confident stride. Mariah holding in a feral growl as her hair stood on end, the doors swinging closed behind Anette and with it the tension poured out of the room.

Tyson and Max exchanged a quiet glance at each other, "The hell was that about?" Max whispered.

"Hell if I know, I've been locked up the past three months." Tyson chuckled back, peeling his back from the wall to step into the room more.

"What's our next step Boss?"

Ray sat back in his chair, trying to find something through the mess in his head to say on top of Anette's riddle. "We need Brooklyn, before we do anything else."

"Do you want me to try and look for him?" Lee asked behind where Ray sat.

"Can't hurt, I guess…" Ray sighed with a shrug, shaking his head some. "Did Tala and Kai leave?" Ray asked as he looked up at Mariah still standing in the corner of the room.

"I met Tala; he was on the way here but I sent him back with the carrier like you asked. I believe they've left the building already though." Mariah explained, unmoving from her corner.

"Max." At his name the blonde stepped forward, stopping beside Tyson in the middle of the room where Anette had been standing before.

"I went through the report you gave me, were any of the trials completed?" Ray asked as he held the blondes gaze.

"They are." Max started, taking in a breath for a second and squared his shoulders. "All failed."

Ray's stomach twisted, along with the others in the room and despite wanting to lash out again he remained calm; screaming on the inside.

"What can we do to make sure the next set works?"

"Honestly? I don't know yet, we're still working with what we can. Emily said she'll come here, but with how things are changing with the Savages here we felt it best she stay in America for now with the others." Max explained quickly.

Ray nodded his approval slowly, leaning his elbows on the top of his desk and closed his eyes to try and think of what more there needed to be done or what they could get done.

"Tyson, I want you to keep tabs on Anette."

Tyson rose a brow at him, "Can I ask why?"

"I've been having a weird feeling about her here recently; she's been gone for almost three days. We had a massive attack and she wasn't around, nor does she seem to care about it either or that Brooklyn is still missing. Somethings off, and I want to know what it is." Ray explained as he opened his eyes to lock on Tyson standing across the room.

Tyson shifted where he stood, worrying his bottom lip. "Okay, but is it a bad time to tell you that Hilary's coming here?"

"Since when?" Ray asked, holding back from shouting at him again. "You're putting her and Makoto in danger if you bring her here."

Tyson shook his head, "I'm not bringing her here, she's coming on her own. My hands were tied with this, you know how she is."

Ray let out another sigh, shaking his head. "Alright fine, but she stays here! No wandering off without you, or Max or somebody that's been Fused. I don't need more casualties on my hands."

"Got it Boss."

"When should we expect them?" Ray asked, a hand through his bangs as he looked as worn out as he felt.

Tyson rubbed the back of his head, a stupid nervous grin on his face. "Tonight."

"Lee, you'll track Anette instead." Ray directed to the man standing behind him without looking back.

Mariah stepped forward from her corner, "What about me?"

"You'll be taking Kain back to the Village for me."

"For how long?" Mariah pressed, the three that could see him not missing the sudden look of hurt on his face.

"I don't know… As soon as this mess is fixed… When it's safe." He stopped, looking back at Tyson. "If you can, convince Hilary to take herself and Makoto with them." He said, his voice slightly cracking as if he was close to tears.

"It's not a bad idea…" Tyson mused quietly, more to himself than anyone in the room. "I'll see what I can do."

Ray nodded, finally they had some what of a direction. "We'll wait for when they get here tonight, we'll have another meeting in the dinning hall. Kai and Tala will be back here with Bryan and Spencer, to go over what I asked them for last night. First flight we can get the children out, the better."

"And what about you?" Mariah asked.

"I may not be able to go into the field, but I'm still needed here. I need to fix this mess, and I can't leave Kai and Tala on their own with this or any of you guys." Ray said, slumping back into his chair.

"That's all for now."

The others nodded back to him, leaving him there to go off and do their own thing. Mariah needed to repack for the trip home, Max needed to go back and check in at the lab with Kenny to go over the formula for the reversal progress. Tyson needed to prepare for his wife and the wrath she was sure to be bringing with her, and their son. Lee went off to do what he had been tasked with, tracking and keeping tabs on Anette.

Alone, something he often found himself to be the past few days, Ray pulled out his cellphone to call up Kai and Tala. If they were already back home that meant they were meeting with Bryan and Spencer, he needed to make sure they were bringing the other two back to the BBA where he'd be dropping the bomb on where Kain would be going till it was safe again.

Around the third ring Kai finally picked up, "Everything okay?"

Ray fought his lips from smiling at that, feeling a warmth in his chest at the love he could feel from over the phone. "Yeah, everything's fine. Was just making sure you three were alright and if the other two have met with you yet."

"In the process now of working out our reports you needed… Are you sure you want everything about the Orlando Incident?" Kai asked, his voice wavering some as if he was unsure now.

"It'd be beneficial to know exactly happened that night, not just for Tala's sake but for everyone who was there." Ray answered, "I already have my men's reports from that night, we have one side to the story and we need yours and Tala's to complete it."

"Alright."

Ray put his free hand to his forehead, rubbing at it as if he had a headache now. "I'm the only one that will see it."

Kai scoffed lightly, "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Alright, just tell me what happened then." Ray huffed back.

"Be easier if I wrote it down for you." Kai said.

Ray rolled his eyes, "Okay, whatever is easier for you. I need you four back here later tonight though." He said sternly.

"What time? These could take a few hours."

"Um…" Ray pulled his phone back from his ear to check the time, it was barely noon. "Five?"

"We'll be there, but if Wong puts his gun in my face again I will shoot him this time."

"Play nice." Ray rolled his eyes at him, "I'll make sure all the toys are put away before any of you come up here, sound good?"

"See you at five." Was all Kai gave him.

"Bye." Ray pulled his phone back, ending the call.

* * *

Hours later, with more paperwork and less progress on anything, Ray found himself on the roof of the BBA building. The smell of rain in the darkening sky, his partners would be arriving in a few minutes but he had yet to pull himself away from the ledge of the roof where he was sitting. Watching the cars and people going by in a numbing bliss, not just them to the horrors of what lived among them, but his head had been empty of the static and mess it seemed to constantly be in now.

Lee's last update on his trail of Anette had come in less than two hours ago, though all she had been doing was sitting at her home and needing him back, Ray called for him to leave her for the time being. Tyson was waiting for the call from Hilary for when she landed, someone else would be picking her and Makoto up from the airport as Ray needed everyone at the meeting; if she came in late that was fine by him since she was just as useless to the whole cause as he was now.

No news had come back up from the lab and for the moment he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, then again he had tossed most of his thoughts out of his head for the peace he needed while he had kept himself away from it all.

Mixed in with the nighttime air and the smell of rain another, familiar, scent caught his attention not too far off. His golden eyes shifting to the right of him, though he remained sitting on the ledge of the rooftop with his feet hanging off the edge. The soft beat of wings filling the air and he found himself swallowing the lump in his throat as he could see Brooklyn hovering closer to him now, as if he wasn't sure how close he should get to Ray, he kept himself midair in front of him.

"Where've you been?" Ray asked, unmoving as he clenched his hands over his lap.

"Keeping my distance, as usual." Brooklyn smiled back at him.

"I needed you…" Ray shook his head, the first few droplets of rain finally falling down from the sky. "I needed you here, I can't do this without you… _We _can't do this without you." He choked out, hoping he could play off the bought of tears to hormones.

"I'm sorry." Brooklyn's smile fell, "I'm sure you don't need me now though."

Ray wiped away what he hoped were raindrops from his face, only to be replaced with more as the sky opened up and let out a flood down on top of them and the rest of the world below. Their clothes getting soaked through, their hair matting down to their faces and getting heavy with the weight of the rainwater.

"But I do… We started this, together… What would make you think I can't do this without you? I'm no use to any of them, even with Kai and Tala now the rest still need you."

Brooklyn listened, watched him breaking down in front of him. Itching to touch him, soothe him like he always wanted to do. How he managed to fall in love with someone so far out of his reach he'd never know, but that never changed the fact that he would willingly lay down his life for him. His black wings beat back gently, inching himself closer to where Ray sat as more tears ran down the neko-jin's face and blending with the rainwater.

"I never did this to hurt you." Brooklyn spoke softly, close enough he could reach out and touch him if he wanted. Though once again held back, Ray wasn't his to touch.

"I'm sending Kain away… Because it's safer for him, but I don't even know if we'll be able to get back to him. I've failed him as a father, I've failed the others as a leader because I don't know what the hell it is I'm doing!" Ray rambled off, just needing to vent out his frustrations as everything he had been holding back from inside his head came pouring back in; like the rain pouring down on top of him.

"Don't leave me too." He choked out, shaking his head as he kept his eyes low. As if he couldn't look up into Brooklyn's own at the moment.

"Do you still trust me?" Brooklyn asked, hovering closer to him.

Ray finally looked up at him, realizing just how close they were now and felt himself leaning forward towards him as Brooklyn met him in the middle. Their lips gently touching, though it sent a raging spark to run down both their spines and the rain that was hailing from the sky seemed to freeze midair. No longer able to feel it hitting their skin or drenching their clothes and hair, the ledge of the building Ray had been sitting on felt as though it was being pulled out from under him, like he was fixing to fall off, though no warning bells sounded.

He didn't feel threatened because deep down he did trust Brooklyn, felt just as safe with him as he did with Kai and Tala despite all that he knew now.

Then came the hazing realization that they had kissed and he jerked back from him quickly, his eyes shooting open wide though it wasn't back into the teal eyes of the other man.

The smoke was what hit him first, then the smell of the fires nearby and the screams in the distance that jarred the rest of him. On another rooftop, somewhere he didn't recognize right away, stood two figures with their backs to him. Out from their backs were blood-red wings, their feathers gently ruffling with the light breeze that carried the billowing smokes from the burning buildings around them into the air. There was the stench of blood, death, surrounding them and Ray found himself choking on everything as his heart slammed into his chest.

The woman's long dark-blue hair, that reached her lower back, moved with the wind. Some of the strands getting caught in her wings, though her attention was before her as if she didn't even know Ray was standing behind her. Beside her she held the pale hand of a small boy, around seven or eight years of age, with dark-purple hair that had slate highlights to it and was cut just below the nape of his neck. His blood-red wings small to fit his size, and a heat emitting from him that Ray could feel where he stood ten or so feet back from him.

Circling above the two, what they had seemed to be fixated on, was a third person soaring through the smoke filled sky. His face was clear, as he seemed intent on looking for something below him, as his black coal colored wings glided him effortlessly through the air.

"Kai…" Ray breathed out, trying not to choke on the sudden inhale of smoke in his lungs.

At the voice, the boy that was standing on the ledge turned his head over his shoulder. His chin and cheek being hidden around the top of his left wing, and crimson eyes with the pupils slit met frightened gold.

"Who is that, mother?" The boy asked and it felt as though Ray had been punched in the gut, that feeling jolting him back to the real world where he found himself wrapped in Brooklyn's arms. Shielded from the rain that was crashing down harder on the top of them by his wings, not knowing if he was shaking from the cold rain or from what he had seen.

"The end has been decided."

Ray's fingers curled tighter into Brooklyn's jacket where he was holding onto like his life depended on it, his heart dropping and feeling like he got punched in the gut again.

"No."


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you all for your reviews! Some of ya'll really made me laugh with your reactions to what's been going on and happening. It's really nice to see everyone's different opinions about this shit show.  
Anyways, HUGE shout out to Roy for helping me here with this first half between Tala and Kai. She did an excellent Tala, and there is also another lemon. A bit better than the last one, but not by much and that's on me. lol. Anyways, here we are, another chapter in this mess. Getting closer to the climax, I think, and then shit will really hit the fan. Hope you all enjoy! **

* * *

Kai let out a sigh, his crimson eyes on the blank screen of his computer that he had been sitting in front of since he was able to get Kain down for a nap; that was almost an hour ago. Although he knew exactly what he had to do, knew how to write it all out, his fingers never touched the letters on his keyboard. The cursor just blinking every second or so, reminding him that he needed to put words down on the word document. Make his report, get it over and done with and finally come clean to everything that was done to him.

He couldn't. He had hid it this long, not just from Ray and the others but Tala as well. Nobody knew, except maybe one person. The one soul on the entire planet who he hated, loathed with every fiber of his being, knew. Had known, all along it seemed, and that person was currently now missing. Which he would have been fine with, if it wasn't currently causing more problems with the other father of his child.

How had they, he, become so blind to what was happening under his roof? How did they turn a blind eye for so long; to the stress Ray was under, to what had been done to him, and in the end where it all spiraled down to where they were now.

Still without a clue as to who had been pinning them against each other, the real master behind the Savages, and who killed Dickenson two years ago.

None of it made sense, nor did it help the raging headache he could feel creeping along inside his skull. With an even more tired sigh, running a hand up through his bangs to try and tame the headache coming, the door to his office opened and Tala stepped inside. His own laptop under his arm, striding into the room as if nothing was going wrong in the world as he made himself comfortable on the leather couch to left of the door.

"Got anything done yet?" He asked, popping the lid of his laptop up as it rested over his knees.

"No…" Kai breathed back, giving him a questioning look. "Why, have you?"

"Almost done, got up to Orlando but since that's still fuzzy I thought I'd come and talk to you about it." Tala answered.

Kai's heart fell into his stomach, "Didn't Brooklyn show you what happened?"

"He did, but it's still blurry." Tala said as his slim fingers danced along his keyboard for a minute, before he looked up and met Kai's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Kai shook his slowly aching head, "I just… I don't know where to start…"

"Oh… I went back to the Abbey, figured since that's where it started and all." Tala offered, hoping to help him along. They only had a few hours before Bryan and Spencer were to show up, leaving them at their own homes to come up with their own reports.

They weren't sure if Ray needed them, much less wanted them, but since it seemed they were all in this together now it seemed like the best option. Just to have all the missing pieces finally put together.

Kai nodded, he had thought of doing that too but every time he went back there, it just caused an uncomfortable chill to run down his back.

It was there where everything started to go to shit, when his father was forced to shove him into his grandfather's clutches. Where his life was no longer his own, flipped upside down and so turned around to the point that he eventually blocked it out after the accident that involved Black Dranzer when he was just a child.

That's all he had been, no older than eight, when he had been fused with Dranzer. Tormented, trained, punished, beaten, starved. The list was endless.

"Kai…?" Tala called to him, seeing the blank look crossing his boyfriends features and knowing exactly where his mind was running off to.

Kai blinked a few times, shaking himself out of it all but the blank look didn't leave his face as he just stared at Tala across the room. Something about those icy-blue eyes of his calming him, just like they always seemed to do when he needed it most.

"I'm sorry…"

Tala stood up, seeing that Kai needed him, and stepped up to the side of his desk. "For what?" He asked gently as he brushed some of the slate bangs out of Kai's eyes.

Kai swallowed the lump in his throat, never before had he felt this kind of weight on his shoulders. There had always been one, but not this heavy. Not when he had so much to lose, not when he could lose everything that meant more to him than his own life.

"I don't know... Just, there's a lot to be sorry for. If it wasn't for Voltaire, Boris... We wouldn't be dealing with any of this bullshit." He spat out, too many thoughts and issues filling his already aching head that he couldn't pinpoint where to even start.

"No..." He agreed, "But on the bright side, we wouldn't have each other either."

Kai made a noise through his throat, refraining from rolling his eyes. "Maybe." He sat back in his chair, glancing at the blank word document again. "But since there isn't a bright side to this, what do we do?"

Tala shrugged. Hell if he knew. "Enjoy what we can, I guess. It's not all complete shit."

Kai arched a brow before he turned back to look at him, "Oh really, what part of this isn't complete shit? The part where we were suckered into working for the government, who have been the cause of this mess that's gone not just beyond their control, but ours as well. Or, the fact that we've locked up several of our friends, one I killed and the other missing." He stopped, seeing the look on Tala's face and fought hard not to smirk at him because he knew he was right.

"Should I keep going?" He asked in a patronizing tone. He wasn't looking to fight with him, he just wanted Tala to see the same picture he was seeing.

"And what about the fact that you're in a relationship with two men and yet somehow was gifted a son?" He bit back, "That somehow _I've_ been gifted a child!"

Kai's brow reached even higher, "And that makes this harder, it was hard enough with Kain and now this one on top of it." He rubbed at his face almost tiredly, "There's no bright side to this, not until it ends. And hell, we don't even know how we're going to do that."

Tala rolled his eyes, "Well fuck, I'm really glad I came in here..." He let out sarcastically.

Kai's hand dropped from his face, "What's that mean?"

Tala hunched himself dramatically and put on a scowl. "There's no bright side. Everything sucks..." He mimicked in his dry tone, "Geesh, it's like looking at a teenage you all over again. Go listen to some Emo music..."

Kai's face scrunched up, not amused by his jokes. "You want me to be happy about all of this or something? What happens if you're _killed_? Tala. What if we lose you, because of this shit?! We're not one step closer to the answers, if anything we've taken five steps back." He tried to calm the heat along his skin, but could still feel it seeping out.

Tala shrugged yet again; those were excellent points. But honestly, he needed to try and find a bright side, no matter how small. He didn't want to believe his baby was coming into a world that was fucked.

"I just want you to lighten the fuck up. Just for a minute. Just let everything feel normal for a few minutes in the day!"

That was the problem with Kai, and now that the truth had come out, Tala could see it was the same for Ray. Always one track minded, putting the missions first and nothing else. No wonder those two were so exhausted, at their breaking point. For now he couldn't do anything to help Ray but get him what he asked for, with Kai sitting there in front of him though, maybe there was a way to help him. Get his mind off the worst parts of this, just to focus on something good for the moment.

Feel normal again, even if he knew it wouldn't last long.

Kai just stared at him; his words lost on him. Tala was right, but how could they? It was constantly go, go, go. Chasing their goddam tails around in circles to have it come to this. It was, as always, exhausting.

"When this is done, then I can relax. When I know that you all will be safe, then it will feel normal."

Did he even really know what 'normal' was? Not really. Anything that was supposed to be normal was just another mask, hiding behind it to spare his lovers the truth. The one that had been brought to the forefront and that mask had chipped and cracked to the point it just turned to dust at his feet.

"I hurt you... Both of you that night, because of Him! How the hell do we go back to normal after this?" He about cried out desperately. He wasn't a man that broke easily, but he could feel the way everything, every mask, was slowly chipping away and trying to turn to dust with the others.

Tala kept his composure with difficulty. If he didn't, this would turn into the two do them being a mess, and one of them needed to stay strong. He wasn't used to this, not since they had got out of the Abbey. Kai was the one that held them up now, had been the leader through just about everything the past several years.

Slowly, he didn't know what to say to him now. Kai was right, but he still didn't blame him for what happened, or could he find it in himself to hate him for hiding the truth for so long.

He climbed onto Kai's lap and draped his hands over his shoulders lightly. "Remember that café we used to go to back in Moscow? Amazing coffee, fucking bitch of a waitress we both used to sit and hate on?"

Kai's hands came up around his back like an automatic reaction, "Yeah?" He blinked in confusion at him, "Always had something stuck in her teeth, and she smelled bad. You never shut up about it."

He ran his hands harder over his broad, tense shoulders. "When this is over... And it will end somehow... We should totally go back and see if she's still there. Take Kain and get him to piss on the floor and make her clean it up."

"Why not use your spawn, when it's old enough? Why use my boy?" Was the only thing Kai's overheated brain could come up with, half wondering where this was coming from while the other part of him was glad for the random distraction.

Tala rolled his eyes again. So much for making the sourpuss laugh. Urgh, was just like the teenage version. God awful.

"Because Kain is clearly going to be a little shit, just like his daddy." He smirked, "Mine would never do such a thing. Just like his... Or her... That's another thing, if it's a girl, it wouldn't be ladylike to make her pee on the floor."

Kai cringed under Tala's weight. Oh god, what if it was a girl?! "Pray for a son, that's all I ask out of this."

Tala's brow raised, "How come? Wouldn't it be nice to have one of each?"

"Do you know the first thing about girls?" Kai asked dully with a bored look on his face, "Sure, Ray does and thank God for that. But a girl, in a house full of boys? That spells more disaster than this Savage mess."

Tala went off into his head with a content smile. "Maybe she'd have Ray's hair but my eyes... Not likely, but what a pretty little thing..."

"Hn, maybe." Kai muttered before shifting a little under Tala's weight on his lap.

Tala's brow lifted higher as he studied his face. Suddenly something else began to bubble under his skin.

"Yeh... Or maybe they'll have little fangs like Kain does..."

"Don't stick your finger in their mouth." Kai glanced back at his computer on his desk, as if staring at it long enough would make the words just appear.

"Noted..." He smirked before he thought of more stuff to poke him with. "You think we should give them a Russian name? Chinese? Or neither and go with something else?"

"Think you're asking the wrong boyfriend here." Kai muttered again.

"I'm asking your opinion is all." He replied innocently.

"Do what you want, it's your kid." Kai shrugged almost uncomfortably, refusing to look away from the stupid cursor blinking back at him.

Tala grabbed his chin and forced it back to look at him. "Yes. But it's _our_ family."

"Just do what you want Tal, it's your kid." Kai repeated, unsure of what Tala was really wanting him to say all of a sudden. "Ray and I chose for Kain, this is something you and Ray need to decide on."

Tala gripped his chin a little harder to keep his eyes on him. "And we will. But you're going to be their parent too, I can at least discuss it with you."

"No, I'm Kain's father. I have no part in this." Kai blinked at him, trying to frown but found it hard to do with Tala's fingers gripping his face. "And if you don't want another ball ache, let Ray pick the name."

Tala's jaw dropped. "Oh what!? So I'm nobody to Kain in your eyes!?"

Kai felt as though he had just taken a punch to the gut, his crimson eyes widening. "That's not what I said! Of course you're important to him, I just don't see why you want me to dive in with this one when it's not even here yet."

Tala leaned in; icy eyes fired up. He wasn't blind. He'd seen the sour looks and sulky body language. Why was another issue completely, sure the timing wasn't right and Kai could spout that off till his face turned blue, but deep down Tala felt as though there was something deeper about Kai's aversion.

"It is what you're saying! Because if that were true, you'd be a little more enthused about this one! We'd be equal! How can you think me important to Kain when you don't consider yourself important to mine!?"

Kai narrowed his eyes at the yelling, jerking his face out of Tala's hold and leaned back away from him. "How do you want me to be enthused about this? It's the wrong damn time, I told you this from the start! And yet here we are. And you are important to Kain, to me and to Ray!"

And there it was, just the excuse the barely scratched the surface to the real issue he could see hiding behind Kai's eyes.

Tala's eyes narrowed back, "Bullshit! Don't give me all that! It was hardly a good time when Kain came along either! Didn't exactly see you looking disappointed! Just admit it Kai, you're not happy about this because of something else!"

Kai frowned hard, "I wasn't exactly thrilled about him either at the time!" He went to rub at his face again but couldn't with his hands still around Tala's back, part of him wanting to just shove him off.

How did this get so twisted around suddenly?

Tala let out an irate growl. "Cause it's you! You never give off that you're happy about _anything_! But I know you! I could see deep down you were, and rightly so!"

"What're you wanting from me here? A 'congrats papa'? Welcome to the club? Why does it matter how I feel about_ your_ child?" Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say, but at this point he didn't know what else to say to him.

Tala felt like he'd been slapped. His eyes glistening a little. "That's exactly what I want! How can it be that hard for you!?" He yelled before he felt the hurt clench in his chest.

"...You've always known how much I wanted kids..." His voice wobbled, "You know how much what happened last time ripped me apart... How can you say you love me if you're not happy for me about this?"

Kai's fingers curled into the back of his shirt, but he didn't really have the right words. Was this ideal? No, hell no it wasn't, not with the way shit kept hitting the fan. He knew, of course he knew Tala wanted kids, always did. Before they had the chance to have their own, the way they did now, it was constantly brought up and he would have done everything he could to make that happen for him.

He just could never really find it in himself to do it, find a way to be excited about it. Sure, he loved his son now but he hadn't been thrilled about it from the start. Kids, the possibility of having them under _his_ care, terrified him. Guns, fights, creatures that haunted normal peoples nightmares, and near death experiences he could handle. A child, some other human being that depended solely on how well he could take care of them. No.

It wasn't who he was, wasn't how he was brought up. It was only because of the other two did he even know what an actual family felt like.

Slowly he reached around, cupping Tala's face in the palm of his hand. "I do love you. I just... You know me well enough to know that this isn't something I'm good at, even with my own. I'm sorry though, I didn't want you to think I'm not happy for you because I know this is what you've wanted." He said in a soft tone, making sure to keep his eyes on Tala's.

Tala leaned into the touch and sniffed. "I want us to be a family, Kai. That's all I've ever wanted. I wanted it to be you and me... Then Ray came and made it even bigger. If there were a way for you and I to have one together, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But it shouldn't even matter whose DNA it has. You and I both know that doesn't mean a lot in the grand scheme of things."

Kai brushed his thumb along the pale cheek, wiping the tear rolling away. "I know, and we are a family. You've always been my family, even when it was just us back at the Abbey. You were all I had."

Tala brought his own hand up to cover Kai's. When was the last time he touched him like this? Said anything like that to him? Granted, they were hardly the mushy type to begin with but he loved this side of him. All of him, though this side he cherished more because it was always rare it ever came out.

"It's the same for me. And nothing will ever change that. Including this baby. Do you hear me?" He asked firmly.

Kai nodded back, wasn't often he welled up but he had seen the way he had crushed Tala. They fought, butt heads often, but very rarely did he make him emotional like this and that was more weight on his shoulders he didn't need or want.

"I'm sorry... I never looked at it as changing things, at least not for the worst. If that's how I came across, I'm sorry."

Tala forced his streaming eyes to roll... Again. It was getting too weepy in here. "Could have fooled me... Jackass."

Kai chuckled a little back at him, it going silent between them for a minute before his cell phone went off on his desk. Using his free hand he reached out and plucked it up, it was Ray. Tala stayed on his lap, as if he refused to move, as he fought with answering the phone one handed before the third ring went.

"Everything okay?" He asked, having to settle it being on speaker phone and just leaving it on the desk to his left.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Was just making sure you three were alright and if the other two have met with you yet." Ray's voice came through the speaker, once more he sounded exhausted.

Kai cleared his throat, "In the process now of working out our reports you needed… Are you sure you want everything about the Orlando Incident?" Kai asked, his voice wavering some as he looked back at Tala for a minute.

"It'd be beneficial to know what exactly happened that night, not just for Tala's sake but for everyone who was there." Ray answered, "I already have my men's reports from that night, we have one side to the story and we need yours and Tala's to complete it."

Kai felt himself tense up again, but he knew why Ray needed this done. Even if he really didn't want to. "Alright."

"I'm the only one that will see it."

Kai scoffed lightly, as if that made it better somehow. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Alright, just tell me what happened then." Ray huffed back.

"Be easier if I wrote it down for you." Kai said, his eyes shifting again between the phone and Tala on his lap.

"Okay, whatever is easier for you. I need you four back here later tonight though." Ray said sternly.

"What time? These could take a few hours." Kai asked, finding this harder than he was anticipating.

"Um… Five?"

"We'll be there, but if Wong puts his gun in my face again I will shoot him this time." Tala snickered a little on his lap, causing Kai to smirk some.

"Play nice. I'll make sure all the toys are put away before any of you come up here, sound good?" Ray asked.

"See you at five." Was all Kai gave him.

"Bye." Ray's voice went back to sounding like he was exhausted, then again they couldn't blame him. This _was_ exhausting, and the call ended.

A naughty smirk tugged at the side of Tala's pale mouth as he saw Kai's face drain of energy. "Better get to work on that report, unless you want Kit to claw your ass..."

Kai rolled his eyes, "Be pretty hard for him to do now." He scoffed, "How much have you gotten done again?"

The wolfish smirk stretched into a grin as he ran his hands up the back of Kai's dark blue hair. "Enough that I've earned myself a nice break..."

"Are you serious?" Kai arched a playful brow, his hands snaking back around Tala's back.

"Deadly..." He grinned back, shifting his hips purposefully. "When was the last time you and I did it in an office?"

Kai thought about it for a minute, "Three months ago, when we had to go to Brazil for the Enterprise." He said as his hands were already up under the back of Tala's shirt. "And since when have you been the perfect little soldier here?"

Tala chuckled, "Oh yeh... Brazil..." He recalled as he let out a nasally sigh at the touch, "The beaches... The water..." He let out huskily.

"Hn, I wasn't really paying attention." Kai smirked, feeling Tala turn to goo under his hands as he warmed them up slightly, running them higher up his back before dragging them down, painfully, slow.

Tala's head fell back a little. "I did. Was kind of hard to miss... That's the view from the window I was pressed against while you _fucked_ me..." He groaned out, rolling his hips against him.

"Mhmm." Kai hummed as he leaned forward, gripping onto Tala's back so he wouldn't fall as he shifted up, attacking the other pale neck that had become exposed to him.

He gripped onto the dark blue hairs as his face flushed, letting out a strong gasp. "Then there was... The rooftop in Rio..."

Kai let out a sigh, biting into Tala's neck as his hands came down to his thighs on either side of him. Grabbing them and pulling the two of them out of his chair, taking him to the leather couch and dropping him on it almost carelessly.

"Think you looked best under that waterfall."

Tala panted, "Thank you." He grinned smugly, "And I'll never forget your face when I started jerking you off under that little blanket on the plane home."

Kai was already taking off his own shirt, "Just be glad we were first class and nobody saw."

Tala jumped up onto his knees, pawing at the tent in front of him. "I bet no one would complain about watching you getting the hand job of your life."

Kai just smirked, dropping his shirt to the floor beside his feet as he held in a groan of his own and stepped forward. Pushing Tala back towards the leather backing of the couch, taking up the hand that was pawing at his ever growing erection.

Using his free hand he put it under Tala's chin, forcing him to look up at him before he kissed him hard on the mouth. Guiding him blindly till he was firmly pinned between the cushions and his own body, his fingers coming away from Tala's chin and going between his legs where he grabbed at him more roughly than what Tala had done to him.

Tala's legs spread instantly as his thighs tensed, letting a deep groan into the kiss. He needed him. He opened his mouth, urging him to slip his tongue in and take control of him, do what he wanted with him. From experience, whatever Kai wanted with him never disappointed him either.

Kai worked him roughly, his tongue snaking into Tala's awaiting mouth and breathed harder into the kiss as they met. Tearing his hand away from Tala's he went to work on the belt to Tala's jeans, going to the button and zipper quickly as if they had no time to waste in getting this done.

Bryan and Spencer were coming over soon, Kain could wake up at any minute, he still had a report to fill out, and be back at the BBA at five.

He tossed the intrusive thoughts out, not wanting to lose what he was feeling right now. Wanting to put all his focus on the man writhing under him, thank him for everything he had ever done for him.

"I love you." He panted between their swollen lips. It wasn't often that they uttered much between each other when in the act, aside from the natural pleasure filled noises that escaped, but he felt he owed it to him.

Tala's hands went to Kai's face, holding it back a little to stare back with his own flushed one. "I love you too." He lifted his hips to let Kai pull off his pants, his urgency rubbing off on him.

With a smooth pull, the offending clothing slipped away, setting Tala free. Kai left the jeans on the floor, peeling away Tala's shirt next to get him completely naked and sprawled out on the black leather of the couch.

"Changed my mind, you look better there than the waterfall." He smirked, his voice deep as his words rolled out of him smoothly.

Tala heaved, his snowy white skin contrasting the leather. "And this is a much better view than that window you smooshed my face against..." He panted in a chuckle.

Kai cocked an arrogant brow down at him, though his smirk stayed on his lips as he dropped down to his knees. "As if you were complaining." He said huskily as he pulled Tala's legs forward, putting them over his own shoulders before he ducked his head down. Taking him in almost whole.

Tala hissed through grit teeth as he watched him. His hand automatically going down to his hair as he fought to keep his eyes open. "If anything, a little rougher would have been good..."

Kai grunted in response, he wanted rough? He'd give him rough. Taking him to the back of his throat, his teeth grazing along his skin, he sucked harder. His hands gripping the tops of Tala's thighs where they draped over his shoulders, a small heat rising from his own skin that seemed to not only warm the two but the space around them.

Tala's toes curled. "Jesus, fuck, Kai!" He cried as he arched his hips. He loved it when he was like this with him. In control. Dominating.

With a pop Kai pulled back, getting back to his feet as his knees needed a break and his jaw was already starting to cramp. Did they have lube in the office? Last he knew they didn't, but he really didn't want to risk walking upstairs to find some.

He went to his desk quietly, maybe he'd be lucky enough to find a bottle in there, and sure enough there was one laying under some papers in the drawer.

"Do I want to know?" Kai asked as he held the bottle up.

Tala grinned, brushing the two famous strands of hair out of his face. "Must have forgotten about it."

"And when was this?" Kai asked with an amused glint in his eyes, stalking back to the couch.

"When you were gone." Tala's grin about reached his ears, "Found Kit cleaning, things just progressed. Probably when he conceived come to think of it."

"Really hoped you two scrubbed this place down good." Kai rolled his eyes as he undid his belt, kicking his jeans off and smearing some of the lube on his fingers as he got back down on his knees.

"I don't remember much of what happened afterwards." Tala said as he put his legs back over Kai's shoulders, shifting a bit closer and lifting his hips slightly.

"Hn." Was all Kai gave in response as he took him back into his mouth, his lube coated fingers prodding around until his index slipped inside.

Tala's mouth gaped at the intrusion as well as his lips wrapping round his cock again, sending his brain up to the clouds again. "And who gives a fuck..." He groaned out as he clawed at the back of the couch.

As Kai worked the cock in his mouth, he sunk his index finger inside him deeper. Working the two in a rhythm, giving everything Tala liked as well as what he deserved before another finger was added. Properly stretching him, twisting and pumping in and out of him at a harder pace that he matched with his mouth.

Tala melted in to it, liquidating as a glossy sheen matted across his reddening skin. "Kai..." He panted, "Give it to me... Outdo Rio!"

With the panting and the begging, Kai did as he asked. Though truth was, he really didn't remember Rio as much as Tala did. If anything, he could have sworn Tala had topped on the roof. Then again, not like he cared in the here and now.

He worked him until Tala's panting and cries reached a point he knew he was close, promptly pulling everything away and subtly cracking his wrist and jaw as he stood again. Without a word he forced Tala up only to turn him and place him on his knees on the couch, grabbing the pale hips as he eased himself inside him.

Despite craving it, needing it, feeling the blessing between Kai's legs ease into him made him clench a little. "Shit..." He hissed out in agonizing satisfaction.

Kai waited, last thing he ever wanted was to hurt either of them. Feeling Tala relax some he started to move, keeping it slow and steady as he brought Tala's ass into him with each pull. The heat on his skin rising again, actually causing his own small sweat to start and form on his brow.

Jerking into Tala more properly once he felt him completely relax on him, keeping his feet planted on the floor firmly to not lose his balance. A growl tore through his throat as he forced Tala back into him harder, their skin slapping against each other, and at that point he got rougher with no intent on slowing down.

Tala bleated wildly as his body got knocked back and forth so good, just like he wanted. Just like Rio, minus the window and plus a little more rigorous.

"That's it baby, fuck me!" He cried out shakily, trying to catch his breath to make sound as his body was battered back and forth.

Another growl tore through Kai's throat, hitting Tala harder as he pulled him down into him with another hard smack. Snaking his right hand around his hips, he grabbed his cock. Working him just as hard as he was thrusting into him.

With the slight, perfect change in angle, Kai's cock hammered just the right place, just as his hand started to work it's magic. His eyes rolled as his mouth gaped, his throat dry from the constant sounds he'd made through this whole assault. He let out a drawn out howl as his pale body began to tremble, probably hardly noticeable to the other with the pounding he was serving.

With another few, rough and hard, thrusts Tala's cock spasmed in Kai's hold. Neither fast enough to grab something to save the poor couch, with Tala's release he clenched again and Kai about jerked forward off his feet as he pulled him to the base. His own cock spasming inside him with a long moan mixed with a Russian curse, his orgasm washing through him and finding it harder to stand much longer but waited until Tala's body stopped twitching before he eased himself out of him.

"You okay?" He panted, winded and out of breath himself as he grabbed one of their discarded shirts and passing it to Tala.

Tala collapsed onto the couch less than gracefully, "Uh huh..." His scratchy voice heaved out, "Rio was shit compared to that..."

"Probably because you topped." Kai shook his head, picking up their clothes and handing Tala his jeans first before slipping his own on. It was his shirt in the end that had been handed over, and went back to his desk to see if he could get something written up now.

Tala wagged a finger. "Not in the office I didn't. That was all you, Mr. President."

Kai let out an arrogant, smug, snort. "Should get these done now before the other two show up." And he was back into reality, where creatures killed people and they were soldiers again.

Tala frowned as he slipped his clothes back on with trembling limbs, winded and completely drained. Of course, that one track mind came back into play but at least they had some sort of normalcy between them; even if it was just for a short while.

He grabbed his laptop off the floor, putting it back over his knees and started to type away. Making sure to stay away from the mess he had made on the seat and back of the couch, leaving Kai's shirt there as the buffer between him and it.

"Do you ever regret it?" Tala's voice came over the sounds of their fingers clicking away at their keyboards.

"Regret what?" Kai asked, not tearing his crimson eyes away from the screen as letters were finally being placed on the word document.

Tala shrugged a little, not bothering to look up at him either. "All of this really, from the relationship to Kain and accepting the governments proposal."

Kai's fingers stopped to hover over his keyboard for a minute, staring at the words he had made as if they had the answers.

"Things might have been easier without Ray here, yeah. But I can't say I regret it. Can't say I really regret Kain either. If anything, I'd regret not knowing what had happened to Ray before he came to live with us. Regret not being able to stop this mess from getting out of hand."

Tala nodded, once more the office going silent with the only noise of the clicking of their keyboards being hit between them. To an extent he agreed with Kai, things would have been easier if Ray wasn't around but the way things turned out. Maybe it had been better this way, seeing as how Ray was already one of them before he came to live with them.

There wasn't anything they could do about it, at least not yet.

"Do you think he'll go through the reversal process?" Tala asked.

"Ray?" Kai asked as he finally looked up at him, getting two pages written up. It was almost like he was just writing his autobiography with the way he started just spewing everything down on the word document.

"Yeah, I mean what would be the point in having it if he doesn't use it for himself? Unless he keeps a few of them Fused, for cases of emergencies or something."

Kai leaned back into his chair as he thought about it, "Would depend how he feels about being Fused, you and I didn't have a choice. The way it sounds, he did and he made the choice for the better. Whether he wants to keep that, it'd be up to him."

Tala nodded, focusing back on his report for a second before his head snapped up with another thought. "When we got those e-mails, he wasn't on the list."

"Tyson said not everybody was on there."

"Yeah, but do you think that was done purposefully? Why did we only get a few of them?" Tala went off, his own mind trying to twist and curve through everything that they had learned the past two days.

Kai arched a brow, "You thinking it was someone in the BBA itself that sent it out?"

"It's not so much of a stretch, don't you think? And then to have Tyson freed right after we interrogated him about it? What if someone from the BBA has been working both sides, for them and the government? Bryan said he thought we had a rat on our side already, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to assume this is the missing piece we need." Tala explained almost excitedly.

"But that doesn't help us pinpoint who." Kai answered, not sharing in Tala's enthusiasm about it. Though, it did make the cogs in his brain start to turn harder.

"Brooklyn?" Tala suggested.

Kai shook his head, as much as he wanted to pin blame on him there wasn't much to go off of in that assumption. "The government wanted him, why would they have us chasing him if they already had him on their side?"

"They told us Dickenson was alive, and he's been dead for two years."

"Still doesn't give us enough reason to believe he's the one behind this, and with him… Whatever he has towards Ray, I don't think he'd risk Ray's trust and life like this." Kai said with a slight growl to his tone.

"Well, Mariah already confirmed they had a leak. So that puts the e-mail coming from someone within the BBA."

"But it doesn't mean there's a double agent here." Kai said with that same deeper, darker tone as he stared at his computer again without touching the keyboard.

Tala let out a sigh as he nodded, more to himself than at Kai. "Could just bring it up, when we go back?"

Kai nodded back in agreement, getting back to working on his report while he had the time. The words that he needed finally pouring out of him the way he needed it to, every now and then going back to re-read what he had already put down.

Was he really only five when his father abandoned him? Eight when he was fused with Dranzer, then two years later at the age of ten he lost his memory because of Black Dranzer? That seemed all so long ago now, and in truth it was, but it didn't stop the chill running down his back again.

Tala was only a year older than him, which meant he had only been six when he was brought to the Abbey. Nine when he was fused with Wolborg. How had they survived that?

For the longest time he had forgotten about it all, from the pain to the agonizing training they were put under so they wouldn't lose control or go Savage. There were others that didn't make it, others that were killed on the spot for losing control. Yet somehow they were able to push through it, survive this long the way they were.

As his fingers continued to dance along his keyboard, it became easier and easier to put down what had happened. He didn't think he had to do an entire recount of his time with the Bladebreakers, Ray had already been there through that time, until it came to their third year as a team. When BEGA was formed and he had left them, joined Boris again but it wasn't the right story that had been told.

Under the guise of fighting Tyson again in a tournament, he had joined under Voltaire's instructions. After Tala had been beaten by Garland, landing him in a coma, Voltaire held the strings to Tala's already fragile life. Threatening to pull the plug on him if Kai didn't join Boris again, if he refused being cross fused with Black Dranzer.

His hands had been tied behind his back, and he had accepted to follow orders from his grandfather again. Just to save the life of his best friend turned lover.

That process, to go through it a second time, had been more damaging to his body than anything he had ever gone through back in the Abbey when he was just a child. Without Black though, he probably wouldn't have been able to defeat Brooklyn in their match. Wouldn't have been able to come back after that battle to start with.

He should have killed Brooklyn then; it would have saved them from what they were facing now. Yet he had let him go, had let him live, only to have them all wind up where they were now.

Leading Ray and the others to be fused with their own bit-beasts, to the Savages that were running rampant. To Dickenson's sudden, and mysterious, death two years ago.

Through everything, going back through all that he had written, there were still pieces missing. They knew now that Dickenson was the force behind Ray and the others being Fused, Brooklyn seemed to be on their side but Kai's instinct told him not to trust the white cladded demon. Brooklyn had been fused too, with him, during BEGA. Had known about Black this whole time, he said it was back in Orlando that he had figured it out but that was a lie. More than likely to spare himself from Ray's anger and wrath, but that wasn't fully Kai's problem to deal with.

After all that, it finally lead up to the night in Orlando. A night that he remembered all to well, had been the sole reason it went up in flames and turned to a blood bath. All because he had lost control, because Black had stuck his talons in him so deep he couldn't shake Him out of his head.

It was a botched mission to start with; they had never had to leave Russia for a problem before until that night, but they had been whistled for and like the good Lap Dogs that they were, they went without question.

"I think you're right…" Kai's voice broke the silence, his fingers stopping against his keyboard.

Tala rose his head, looking up at him questioningly. "About what?"

"There's a double agent, working for the BBA and the government. Pinning the two against each other, feeding in the Fusions to create the Savages."

"But… Who?" Was all Tala could seem to ask before his ears perked, Bryan and Spencer were making their way up to the front door.

"Guess we'll find out." Kai supplied as he watched Tala's reaction, almost similar to an actual dogs when hearing someone approach the house.

* * *

"The end has been decided."

Ray's fingers curled tighter into Brooklyn's jacket where he was holding onto like his life depended on it, his heart dropping and feeling like he got punched in the gut again.

"No." Ray shook his head, pulling away from Brooklyn's hold on him quickly as if he couldn't stand being close to him.

Shooting up to his feet in a flash of green, the rain pouring down harder around them and white bolts of lightning broke across the darkened sky.

"No, I'm sending him away! He's going to be safe! Who is she?!" Ray spat out as fast as he could, the rooftop under his feet feeling as though it was fixing to pull right out under him again.

"Even with your decision it hasn't changed this, she'll find him! No matter where you hide him, send him off, he is her end goal." Brooklyn yelled back as he stood with him, though kept his distance.

Ray shook his head, the rain water slipping down his face and hair. "But why? He's not one of us, why does she want him? Where did he get the wings, the heat?" He tried to make sense, as much sense as he could with what had been shown to him.

Feeling bile slowly rising up in his throat again, though this time he wasn't sure if he'd be able to hold it down.

"Do you know who she is?!" His voice roared as another crack of lightning shot across the sky, this time the bolts were lime-green in color.

Brooklyn shook his head, "I can never see her face." He lied through his teeth.

"And was this the vision you had the other night, when you called me at the restaurant?" Ray pressed, he hadn't heard a babies cries while there but there had been fire and smoke.

"No, they're two separate visions."

Ray's entire body went stiff, "And has that one changed?"

"No."

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?!" Ray yelled, the bolts of lime-green lightning striking across the sky again. Though his attention stayed on the man in front of him.

Before Brooklyn could answer him the door to the stair well opened, Mariah stepping just under the small overhang to avoid the rain.

"They're here." She called to them.

Ray turned back to look at her, giving her a small nod that he heard her before turning back to Brooklyn who looked ready to take flight. He was leaving him again, when he needed him most?!

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare leave me!"

Brooklyn's face softened, giving him a small smile. "I'll be back, I just need to take care of something first."

Ray stepped forward to grab him, keep him from leaving him to do this on his own, when Brooklyn's wings stretched out to their full length and he jumped back off the roof of the building. Taking off into the downpour of the night without a word.

"Ray?" Mariah touched his shoulder, having braved the downpour herself finally. "It's going to be okay, he'll come back."

Ray's shoulders shook, the vision coming back to him. His focus had been on Kain, a much older version of his son that he almost didn't recognize himself. Though he knew, from the hair to the crimson eyes and the pupils that were slit. That was his son, next to a woman he called mother and with his other father causing more destruction around them.

It didn't make sense, he was still missing a bigger piece to the puzzle but something in his stomach twisted again and before he could stop it, he hurled onto the rooftop.

"Oh honey…" Mariah cooed, rubbing his back and pulling his bangs out of his face. "This stress isn't good for you or the baby."

She was right, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Not until this was taken care of, over and done with for good, and if he had to do that without Brooklyn then so be it.

"You said they're here?" He questioned as he righted himself up, the rain washing away the contents of his stomach down a storm pipe.

"Yes, in the dining hall like you asked." She rubbed his back some more gently, feeling him shake slightly under her hand.

Running a shaking hand through his soaked hair, he straightened himself up more. Putting on his Directors mask and pulled out from under her touch, going to the stairwell that would take him back inside the building.

There, on the tip of his tongue, was a question bubbling that he needed to ask the fathers of his children. Depending on their answers, would depend whether or not one of them got a bullet between the eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Welcome back guys! Thank you all so much for the reviews last chapter, so glad ya'll liked the downtime that was given briefly. We're jumping right into the action now, think we've finally reached the climax to the story and this is where shit really hits the fan.  
Warning: First half is a bit rough with a brief aftereffects of a fight happening, character death near the end and I think that's about it.  
Been waiting since forever to bring this out for ya'll, parts of it were already written up since this thing started and I'm really excited for ya'll reactions to it! Anyways, I'll stop rambling so ya'll can enjoy!**

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A terrible scream ripped through the air, the sickening sounds of bones breaking and popping following after as the heat in the air kept climbing. Burn marks in the shape of hand prints seared, bare, fair skin as the clothing singed away as her hands clamped down on his wrists and tugged both his arms back behind him, pulling till they became dislocated from the joints. There wasn't time to stop the next scream from passing his lips, pricks that felt like tiny needles crawling up his arms that were left to lay limp at his sides after she had thrown them away from her with a look of disgust on her face.

"And here I had thought you'd come to your senses." Anette cooed as she stepped around Brooklyn's body, knelt down on the floor with his right wing bent at the top joint and twisted around.

Blood ran down from the corner of his lips, cascading down his chin in a thin line and into the collar of his shirt that was torn apart, singed, and now had burn holes throughout. His left wing folded around his side as he forced his head to look up and meet the woman eye-to-eye as she came to stand in front of him.

"This is your fault, you know." Anette reminded in a snarky tone, a smirk on her painted red lips that showed her teeth. "You could have stopped me, long ago, but no. You wanted this just as much as I did, so why now? Why go against me when you knew it was useless?" She continued, her tone getting darker as she narrowed her crimson eyes down at him with a burning fire behind them.

Brooklyn simply smiled back up at her, "To right my mistakes."

"Because you fell in love?" Anette tutted, shaking her head as if she was showing him sympathy. "What a foolish thing to do."

"You're the fool, if you think you'll actually be able to pull this off." Brooklyn coughed back, forcing more of his blood out of his chest and throat as it splattered along the cold stone floors.

Anette rose an amused brow, kneeling down before him as her smirk turned more sinister. "Oh Brooklyn, Brooklyn… I've already won, and you of all people know it." She continued to coo as she tilted his chin up with the tips of her fingers, locking eyes with him once more.

"Isn't that right? It hasn't changed has it, the future I bring. It's still there, as I can see it in your eyes. Kain will be mine, as will his father and this world will finally be brought down to its knees like grandfather wanted." She let his face drop, feeling his life slipping away by the seconds and his head went down without her hold on his chin.

"Still such a shame he wasted his time on the likes of you." She sneered as she stood back up, walking towards the doors that separated her from the rest of the Abbey.

Pressed up against the back wall, inside the hole where the Savages were kept, their eyeless faces were stuck against the window as if they were trying to peer inside the room. Having been in a frenzy since the fighting had started, feeling the heat seeping in the air through the cracks in the stone walls where they were.

Anette continued towards the doors, pushing them open and sighed at the display of dead bodies that had been left in Brooklyn's wake when he had rudely forced himself through to her.

"Just stay there for a second, I have something for you." She smiled over her shoulder at him, letting the doors swing close behind her as she left him kneeling on the floor in a puddle of his own blood.

A terrible chill ran through Brooklyn's spine, though he couldn't move an inch to get himself away or save himself. He had known this was foolish to do, but he had to try. Had to stop her and right the wrongs he had caused, and now he was going to die.

* * *

Mariah shifted on her feet behind Ray who was bent over a sink, trying to wash his face and rinse out his mouth before they continued into the dining hall. They could hear, smell, everyone the moment they had made it on the floor. Everyone he needed was there, like he had asked, except the one person he felt he needed there the most.

He was going to have to push through, put on a front to finish this once and for all. Hoping, with every part of his being, that they could figure out the last missing puzzle piece to why everything had turned out the way it had. Drying his face with a rough paper towel, and the sink turned off, he turned to Mariah and nodded to her that he was ready to go.

Mariah reached around her hip and pulled her gun out from it's holster, handing it over to him where he placed it in his empty one, leaving it on display and swiftly took them out of the bathroom and to the dining hall. The closer they got the louder the voices became, nobody was fighting or yelling yet and that was a good sign.

The moment they stepped into the large cafeteria the voices stopped, Tyson and Max sending Ray a smile that he returned halfheartedly as he took up a seat at the first table he came to, the others having pushed four of them together to form a large square in the middle of the room.

Kai and Tala exchanged glances with one another, sitting at the table that made up the right of the square, with Kain in his playpen directly behind them. Bryan and Spencer on Tala's left, as there was an empty chair next to Kai's right. Across from their table Tyson sat with Hilary, their three year old son on her lap, with Max on Tyson's other side and Kenny near the corner beside Hilary; closest to the table Ray and the other Neko-Jins were sitting. The far back table that made up the square was fitted with three laptops, all open with the faces of Judy, Emily, and Salima on each of the screens on video in real-time.

The second Ray sat down and pulled himself closer to the table there was a tense silence, not that he hadn't expected there to be one as one side of the square was fitted with his men and the other, sat opposite, were the people his men thought responsible for everything and consequently his lovers.

This was where it was supposed to end, put them together to finish this mess and end it all, but with the vision Brooklyn had finally showed him he couldn't find it in himself to think this entire meeting wasn't going to go to shit at some point.

Finally, after a looming silence, he cleared his throat as he could feel the awaiting eyes on him, turning his attention to the table the other two were sat at.

"Did you bring what I asked for?"

Tala nodded, picking up the files he had in front of him and stood. Taking them over to him and setting them down in front of Ray, putting a hand on his back and feeling him tense under his touch though didn't question why. Quietly he moved back to his chair, all the while holding Kai's own questioning stare yet neither seemed to have an answer at the moment.

Ray moved through the four files that had been placed before him, finding Kai's and opening it to flip through. His eyes scanning the part he was on the hunt for, part of him hoping he was wrong until the words that had been typed out spelt it all out for him.

"When were you going to tell us?" Ray asked, his voice low and hinting on deadly as he stared at the black lettering on the papers.

"I didn't know how." Kai answered, ignoring the confused stares that were now directed at him he kept his own focus on Ray.

"Did you know?" Ray asked as he met Tala's eyes, the only one in the room who didn't have a look of confusion on his face.

"No, not until the other day when Brooklyn showed me." Tala answered.

"Does anyone else know?" Ray continued in a demanding tone, feeling every part of himself tensing up.

"No." Kai answered quickly, not missing the look he was receiving but was just as confused as the others as to why he was getting it at all.

"Dickenson didn't know, nobody else knew? Are you _sure_?!" Ray pressed.

"I'm telling you, nobody but Brooklyn knew! Why does it matter who knows and who doesn't?"

"Because who else would have been the threat Dickenson was warned about, if it isn't Black Dranzer!" Ray yelled as he hit the top of the table before him, gaining a few gasps of surprise from those around the table.

Tala shifted in his seat, not liking this and where it seemed to be going. Though didn't know if there was a part where he could step in, or even if he should. He hadn't known, all this time Kai had kept that bit of information to himself. Although the images were still blurry, there was Orlando to consider and what had happened there and deep down he understood where Ray was coming from suddenly.

"Aside from Orlando He's been dormant, I haven't lost control before or since that night." Kai spoke up, breaking the icy silence that had followed Ray's outburst.

"If I was the threat, you'd have known by now."

Ray nodded, running a hand through his hair as he sat into the back of his chair. "Kenny." He called, turning to his head scientist on his right past Lee. "I need you to run some tests on Kain." His voice wobbled some as he made his command.

Kai and Tala raised a brow, as did most of the others in the room. The request odd at best, though as with every other time, no one voice their opinions when he spoke or requested something.

Kenny shifted his glasses a little, clearing his own throat at the odd request. "What is it I should be looking for?"

"I want to know if it's possible that he somehow has powers, because of the Fusion process Kai and I have been through." Ray explained.

"Is there a reason you may think he does?" Emily's voice came from the laptop speakers her face was inside of.

Ray nodded as he turned his attention towards her, "Brooklyn showed me a vision, Kain had wings reminiscent to Dranzer's. I want to know if it's possible that he may somehow have altered DNA because of us, and if so I want to know if he can go through the reversal process with the rest of us."

"By all accounts, if he was born with the powers then the reversal process won't work. If he even has these powers to begin with." Emily informed, "The reversal process is to delete the bit-beasts powers within you, that formed and merged with your DNA, for Kain or any other child that has two parents that were Fused their DNA would be made up of those powers. Not separate."

"And do we know if there are others, whose parents are Fused?" Ray questioned in a sigh.

"It would depend on the variable you're looking for, as far as we know there aren't couples that are both Fused with children. If it comes out that Kain does have powers, it would be more likely that it only happens when two parents are Fused instead of just one." Emily explained, "Though of course that's if the tests come back stating that he even has these powers to start with."

"Kenny." Ray turned back to him, "Can you take him now, get it started?"

"Yes Sir." Kenny pushed himself away from the table.

Kai's body tensed; did he have no say in what they were trying to do to his son? He understood why Ray would want the tests done, but Kain was just a baby.

"What happens if the tests come back positive, what're your plans for him then?" He asked in a deep tone, his eyes hard on Ray's person.

Ray shifted in his chair, leaning into the back of it as he flipped Kai's file closed almost carelessly. "Positive or negative results he's still going to the village with Mariah." He answered in a calm tone, pulling his arms around his chest as he squared his shoulders.

"And when were you going to tell me this?!" Kai fired back angrily.

"I'm telling you now, it's safer for him to go back to the village." He stopped and glanced at Tyson and his family. "It'd be safer for Makoto as well."

"We've already discussed it, we'll be going." Hilary answered as she brushed her fingers through her son's mid-night blue hair.

Ray nodded back, happy to hear that wasn't another battle they'd have to get through in convincing her to go. He noticed Kenny still standing behind his chair, as if he was afraid in going and grabbing Kain from his playpen behind his other father. With another sigh and eye roll he glanced back over at said other father with a pointed stare.

"It needs to be done."

Kai narrowed his own eyes back, part of him not liking the idea of his son being a test subject like he had been all his life. There wasn't another reason to stall it though, he knew that, but that didn't mean he couldn't be pissed about it.

"Fine."

As if those were the words Kenny needed to hear he made his way around the tables to where the playpen sat, quickly plucking Kain out from it. "I'll have him back in a few minutes." He told the clearly nervous and angry father, making a quick exit with the eight month old on his hip.

"Should I have Liam and Caleb tested?" Salima asked through her laptop.

"It would help cross out the variable I spoke of earlier, since you aren't Fused but Kane is." Emily answered her, the two laptops sitting side by side.

"Understood." Salima nodded.

Ray's heart clenched a little, moving himself towards the table in front of him where he rested his elbows on the top of the smooth surface. "Salima…" He took a breath, not wanting to do this.

"Kane is dead…"

Salima's eyes widened on her screen, tears pricking instantly but held them back as she simply nodded again. Quiet sobs soon following as she moved away from the camera she had been sitting in front of, the others giving her a minute until she came back moments later and wiping at her tear stained cheeks.

"How?" She asked in a hoarse voice.

"It's still unclear at the moment, but we believe he went Savage and got caught in the crossfire." Ray explained, not wanting to throw that burden on Kai's shoulders more since it was him who had killed Kane.

"I see…"

"That brings me to my question, Director." Judy cut in, "Have we learned how the Savages are increasing in number yet?"

Ray cleared his throat again, swallowing the lump that had formed momentarily. "When Dickenson was killed, two years ago, the person who killed him took the formula. We still don't have a person of interest, but what we've concluded was they gave the government the formula while also taking it and modifying it themselves. Creating their own forms of Savages in the process, why we're still unsure of."

"They tried to turn me, when I was held captive the past three months." Tyson filled in quickly as he saw an opening, "Mystel and Kane were with me for a while, but I can only guess they were able to change them."

"And there are no leads as to who this person could be?" Judy asked in a harsher tone.

"There might be one, or two." Bryan spoke up from where he was sitting, before him sat his own laptop that was open. Gaining everyone's attention at the sound of his voice.

"Three days ago the BBA had a leak, correct?" Everyone nodded, "I was the one these e-mails were sent to, through these e-mails were the files on most of you with a few missing. Ray, your file wasn't there along with some others. I have the files saved, you can have them and go through them to find out who else is missing on these files and I believe, by doing so, you'll be able to pinpoint who leaked your files to me."

"Why were they sent to you?" Ray asked, arching a brow at him. Ignoring the shiver running down his spine the moment their eyes had met, though told him self he had bigger issues to worry about than their history together.

Bryan shrugged his shoulders, "Hell if I know, I don't work for the government so it wasn't like I'd personally gain anything from these. But, I do work for Kai who did work for the government."

"Are you suggesting that the person who leaked these, works for both sides?" Lee questioned quickly, a slight growl in the back of his throat.

"It's the conclusion we came to before coming here, yes." Tala answered him in a neutral tone, "And we also have the files of every government agent to go alongside those of the BBA's, when you have them all." He directed more at Ray, ignoring Lee's stare.

"You can send them to me, I have the files pulled up already and can cross reference them now." Emily instructed before giving off her e-mail to him.

"Yes ma'am." Bryan said as his fingers typed along the keyboard of his laptop, "Should have them in a few seconds."

"What's the game plan, if this comes back that we've had a rat all along?" Tyson asked as Emily's attention went somewhere else for the time being.

"Would it even be possible to storm the government?" Max questioned, looking at the two ex Lap Dogs across from him.

"Not unless you want to be killed on the spot." Kai answered.

"And it's possible this person has also been working alone, using the government and BBA's resources to do what they are." Tala supplied after him, "Roman doesn't seem like the kind of man to want an all out war, either he's been blind to the rat in his own home or he's helping supply this third person with the Savages."

"What would he gain by doing that, if he doesn't want a war?" Ray questioned quickly.

Tala shrugged his shoulders, "Wish I knew Kit, but really he has never come across as the world dominating kind. Not like Boris or Voltaire at least."

"And Roman, he's the one in charge over there?"

"That's him, as dumb as a box of rocks." Tala chuckled, "It's a damn miracle he's been able to operate as long as he has."

"And what made you two accept his offer?" Tyson piped up.

"We were wanting to protect everyone, we thought that's what we were doing when we were approached. We were told that the Savages before were the boys from the Abbey, finally snapping and going wild. We didn't know about the BBA or Dickenson, then things just spiraled more out of control as the years went on."

"And who was it that approached you?" Emily jumped into the conversation; the sound of her tone urgent.

Tala rolled his head on his shoulders to take in her face on the screen of the laptop to his right, "Anette Feniks."

All the eyes of those from the BBA widened considerably, Ray jumping from his chair where it crashed against the floor behind him.

"Tell me you're lying!"

Tala and Kai blinked at him a few times, taken a back by the sudden outburst though neither were able to speak when Emily's voice filled the room from her laptop speakers.

"It's true, she's on both lists."

"It's been her this whole time?!" Tyson's mouth dropped in shock as Ray's fist hit the table he was using to support himself.

"Where was she the last time you saw her?" Ray asked Lee on his right.

"At home, had been there the past several hours. When I left, she was there. Hadn't moved an inch, hadn't shown signs of her leaving anytime soon."

"Is she Fused?" Max questioned.

"It doesn't state in either file, and there was no indication that she would have been. She joined us during the process and never went through it herself." Emily answered.

"Where did Dickenson find her?" Ray asked as his head snapped up, clocking Judy's eyes across from him.

"He never said where she came from, or why he pulled her into what we were doing." Judy answered with a small shake of her head, "We had run a background check on everyone, and she had no history that was on record. We couldn't find anything on her, just her name."

"Does this mean we found the third party?" Tyson asked, his head swiveling between the laptops to Ray.

"She is the only one with a file in both the BBA and the government's systems." Emily said in a grave tone.

"That doesn't make sense… Brooklyn checked her the other day when we had the leak, he said he checked her!" Ray bit out.

"Where is Brooklyn?" Kai asked.

Ray's body seized up on him, "He left… He didn't say where he was going…"

"Is it possible they were working together?" Tala asked next, being cautious in how much they questioned due to the stress it would ultimately put Ray through.

A terrible sinking feeling hit Ray in the gut, not wanting to think that but with the evidence how could he deny what was being brought into the light?

"And what of you?" His eyes moved to Kai on Tala's left, his pupils slitting. "You were there with him, back during BEGA."

Tala's mouth dropped much like Tyson's had, feeling Kai's body stiffen beside him where their shoulders had been touching.

"Kit… You can't be serious…"

"I'm just trying to put the pieces together here! If Anette is part of this, if Brooklyn is a part of this, then that funnels back down to Boris and Voltaire still. Though we all already knew if it wasn't for them then none of this would have happened to start with." Ray argued back, "So why _did _you join BEGA?"

Kai took in a breath, holding Ray's eyes with his own. Once more ignoring the others in the room staring at him, willing the heat on his skin to stay down. Everything was written down in his file Ray had asked for, but by the looks of it he wanted to hear it from him now.

"Because Voltaire threatened to kill Tala, when he was in that coma Garland had put him in. They had finally been able to extract Black Dranzer's powers, something they couldn't do back in the Abbey before I left, and I was then Fused with Him during BEGA. Brooklyn knew, since he was there and being Fused with Zeus at the same time, we were supposed to be the second wave that followed after the Abbey."

"You were Fused with Dranzer and Black?" Emily questioned.

"Yes… Though mostly He is dormant, I can only freely harness Dranzer's powers."

"But that changed in Orlando, didn't it?" Ray cut in quickly.

Kai let out deep breath, "Yes… I lost control that night. You were there, you know what happened." He bit back, matching Ray's angry and accusing tone with his own.

"It was a botched mission; we were sent there under the pretense of Savages being there but in the end it was just us. The BBA against the government, more than likely Anette's doing."

"But what is her end goal through all of this?" Hilary questioned, looking between everyone as her grip on her son tightened.

"She wants Kain…" Ray answered in a low voice, "And I can only assume she wants you as well." He said as he hadn't looked away from Kai.

"But… Why Kai?" Tala asked as he looked between his two lovers with the same confused expression as everyone else in the room.

"Because of Black, I assume." Ray shrugged.

"But how would _she_ know about Him, _we_ just found out about Him!" Tyson asked in an exasperated tone, "This isn't making sense."

"Maybe she always knew, somehow… It was on her command we went to Orlando to start with, there's a piece we're still missing here. Who is she, and why would she want to do this?" Tala mused.

"I've been running her name through every data base I can, there's nothing coming up." Emily said.

"Same here, I can't find anything on an Anette Feniks." Bryan shook his head, staring at his own laptop.

"An alias?" Max questioned.

"But why would she use it for both the BBA and the government?" Hilary huffed back with an eye roll.

Tyson and Max shrugged in unison, "Make it easier?" They offered, getting another eye roll at their simple answer.

"But an alias does make sense, even if she was stupid enough to use it for both agencies." Emily spoke up, "But why would she want Kain? What was in that vision Brooklyn showed you?"

Ray picked up his chair, sitting back down in it and putting his forehead in his hands. This was too much, then again he hadn't really been expecting it to be easy. The question of why she wanted Kain was still a mystery, unless he did have Dranzer's powers as it was hinted at by the vision or she was intent on Fusing his son.

Finding his voice he finally started to explain the vision to them, the room quiet as everyone's attention was on him and him alone as he told them what he had seen. Well after he was done the silence loomed for a short while, nobody quite sure what to say for the time being and waited to see if there was anything more he needed to say though nothing came out of him.

Finally, breaking the silence, Salima cleared her throat. "The results are back; both of my boys are negative."

Ray's head snapped up from where it had been hung low, that was quick. "And they're sure?"

Salima nodded, "They ran them twice, no traces of Dragoon's DNA in either of them."

"That takes away the variable we were looking for then." Emily said, "Which means Kain has a higher chance of having either Dranzer or Driger's DNA within him, if not both."

"That's why she wants him… But how would she know about it?" Tala questioned as his skin pricked.

"She may just want him to Fuse instead, if he doesn't have the DNA to start with." Ray shrugged his shoulders, his own skin pricking at all the possibilities the woman would want his son. Then again, it only cemented the vision he had seen. A woman, with her colored hair, standing there holding his sons hand with the same red wings that looked like Dranzer's.

As if Lee was reading Ray's mind, he turned in his chair and put a hand down on Ray's back. "How does _she_ have the wings?"

"I don't know… Brooklyn didn't say, he said he could never see her face but after all this… It just makes too much sense for it not to be her."

"So it boils down to how she got Dranzer's powers." Tala said, having heard the two whispering to one another.

"She wouldn't have been in the Abbey; they don't allow girls there so that knocks that out of the way, and we've never seen her before any of this. But, if she approached us three years ago, then she had a reason to… Like she knew what would happen, and that puts her working alongside Brooklyn who is tied to Boris because of BEGA and with Boris, it comes back to Voltaire…" He said as his icy-blue eyes moved to Kai beside him. Everything, no matter which way they looked, came boiling back down towards Kai and his grandfather's plan to overtake the world.

Kai shifted in his chair, pulling his arms around himself tighter though he didn't understand why. Something wasn't right, he could feel it but had no real answer as to what it could be until it finally clicked.

"If the test results are already back for Salima's kids, where's Kain?"

Ray's head shot up again, fear etched in his face as he understood the tone in Kai's question. Anette had a way inside the BBA, Kenny wasn't like them and they were the only ones there and the lab was below ground and he couldn't hear that far. Just as they all felt the air go stiff, Kai's question lingering in the air, everyone was pushing up out of their chairs aside from Hilary and Makoto as they would only serve to get in the way.

In those split seconds that everyone had rushed up to their feet, the doors to the dining hall opened. Anette's scent no longer hindered by her overpowering perfume and Tala's nose curled at the familiar scent he had smelled the night of the stove incident, she smelt like Kai now just as she had that night.

Upon seeing Kain in Anette's arms Ray held his hands up, stopping the others from moving an inch more, his son happily curled up into the woman's side and neck. He too able to smell Kai's scent coming off of her, no doubt Kain smelling it just the same and being content in the woman's hold.

Tyson and Max moved back to where they both blocked Hilary and Makoto with their bodies, the three looking in through the laptops staring in shock and awe as Emily was trying to call Brooklyn from her cellphone as the video feed to her laptop cut off.

The familiar heat along Kai's skin rose quickly, filling the space he was standing in; barely around the corner of the two tables that were pressed against each other with Tala beside him. Spencer and Bryan behind the two of them, all four of them unsure what to do at the moment. Tala putting a hand on Kai's shoulder, being singed slightly and flinched, though hoped to keep him calm with Kain in Anette's arms.

A smirk flicked up Anette's lips as her crimson eyes locked with Kai's, feeling the air in the room getting hotter even where she was standing. "Now, now little brother. There's no need for that." Anette tutted, brushing back Kain's fringe from his forehead.

All three men looked on in shock, the same question running through their minds. Kai is an only child, like them. Anette, aside from the crimson eyes, looks nothing like Kai unless the dark hair at the back of Kai's head could compare to the color of Anette's.

"But give the dog a bone, he guessed it." She smirked harder as her eyes moved to the red-head beside Kai, "I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out there, Tala."

"The hell are you doing this for?!" Ray growled; his pupils slit the second he had seen the woman holding his son. His arm itching for the gun Mariah had supplied him with before they had entered the dining room.

"That's simple really, I wanted this precious little bean." She cooed, nuzzling her nose into Kain's dark hair.

Kai and Ray's blood ran cold, both itching to step forward but don't know what she's capable of doing. Their son's life is being played with, it's not about them anymore or the rest of what they had been fighting over. It all came down to protecting the one thing that meant everything to them.

"And what do you want with a baby?" Kai managed to ask, his brain still trying to get past being called her brother but, the safety of his son overpowering his other thoughts and concerns. The heat around him dying away, not wanting to risk his son's life.

"Simple." Anette said as she turned to Kai with a twisted smile, "He's going to help me rule this world, like grandfather had envisioned all along. It won't take much; he already has the powers of both Dranzer and Driger within him thanks to his fathers. He will need to be taught, how to control these powers, but I can tell he is strong." She nuzzled Kain's hair again as she spoke, holding the sleeping babe closer to her side.

"You get your hands off my son!" Ray yelled, getting held back by Lee and Mariah. Fear rushing through all three of them, though didn't know what to expect from her or what she would do to Kain.

Anette's crimson eyes glanced up towards him, only a few feet from one another, "He _is_ my nephew after all, and this is only the second time I've ever gotten to see him much less hold him."

"Bullshit, Kai is an only child!" Ray's voice boomed, giving up on trying to fight against the two holding him back.

"Oh, that's what everyone thinks. But, our father was a wandering man if you will. Of course, him straying out of his marriage to Misaki didn't sit well with grandfather so I was denied the Hiwatari name and everything else. In a way I should be thankful though, I didn't have to suffer under the hands of Boris."

"Then how did you get fused?" Kai asked, his tone low and deadly as the fire in his eyes were raging ten-fold.

"I never said I didn't suffer." Anette informed as she rolled her head back at Kai, "I was trained, but not in the Abbey as they don't allow girls there. Grandfather had many friends though, thirsty for power like Boris, so here I am. I was fused with Dranzer's power at the age of six and honed my abilities through countless years of training. Grandfather, when he wasn't busy with _you_, would stop by from time to time to check on my progress.

"Apparently you had made a big mistake, little brother, and lost your memory so you became useless to him. So he took Dranzer away from me and gave her to you for the time being, since he favored _you_ so much more. You after all carry the Hiwatari name, not I, so once more I was forgotten and left to my own devices. I studied, continued my training on my own. Luck would have it that after you _betrayed_ grandfather, again, he returned to me and I killed him." Anette explained, all the while her smile stayed on her face and there was a joy in her eyes at the memory she had.

Kai's mouth dried upon hearing her tale, the last part of it sending a cold chill running down his spine. His eyes quickly going down to his son still sleeping in the woman's arms and back to meet the crimson that were a mirror of his own staring back at him expectantly.

"So it has been you, all along. You killed Dickenson, stole the formula and gave it to the government on purpose. Why, if you hated Voltaire that much, why would you continue to do this?!" Tala asked heatedly.

Anette's eyes darted from Kai's to Tala's, a fire burning in them as she took him in. "Because I wanted to be seen, not just tossed aside! I was much more, more than anything he could have ever dreamed to have accomplished and yet he threw me away! All for you and his traitorous grandson!" She screamed back at him, causing Kain to stir in her arms.

Ray went to step forward again, his heart racing in his chest harder than it ever had before as a cold sweat formed on his back. Mariah and Lee once more stepping in front of him, blocking his path.

"_I_ was the threat Dickenson tried to prevent, he knew who I was and he tossed me aside just like Voltaire did! Until he needed me, that's all I ever was to any of them. Just a pawn for them to use, using me how they saw fit. Boris never knew about me, so I had no one to go to. I was left alone, with no one!" Anette continued to scream at them, the heat in the air now coming from her and Kain let out a small whimper before he screamed.

"Stop, you're hurting him!" Ray's voice cracked as he yelled, tears in his eyes as he felt the heat coming from her and hearing his son's cries.

Anette's eyes softened slightly, going back to the babe that had awoken in her arms and cradled him closer to her chest as the heat around her came back and vanished.

"Oh sweetheart, auntie is sorry. She didn't mean to hurt you."

Kai swallowed the lump in his throat, unsure what to do still. Every instinct he had ever relied on through his life failing him, for once not knowing what the right move was at this point. Not when that woman held his entire life in her hands like that.

"You created the Savages because you didn't want to be alone anymore." Kai's voice was low in a whisper, grabbing Anette's attention once more. It was more of a statement than a question, why he felt the need to say it he didn't know, but now it was out in the air between them.

"Yes. I created them, have trained them like I had been trained. They know who rules over them, your precious government just helped add to my numbers and now I have thousands of children. While you." She turned her eyes back to Ray as they hardened into a glare.

"You did nothing but try to reverse what I have done, taking away my children. Trying to leave me alone again in this world! You think, just because you are one of us that you have the right to do such a thing! You're nothing but a hypocrite!"

"You can call me what you want, we're nothing alike!" Ray spat back, baring his fangs at the woman. "You're wanting to kill innocent people for the hell of it, use MY son to do it! Kind of sick monster are you?!"

"Oh, you think that bothers me? That was what I was trained, raised, to do and don't you dare think that I'm even close to being done here." Anette threatened in her own low tone, the fire in her eyes returning as they locked onto Ray's.

"I have no use for any of you." She said as her neck craned back, looking down at them past her nose as the heat returned around them all.

Kain cried out again as he was burnt by it, being held in her arms, and Kai and Ray's hearts leapt into their throats. Before either of them could do anything to stop her, the heat in the air continued to soar causing the others to sweat as Kai seemed unaffected by it.

Keeping the screaming child in her arms, her eyes darting between them all, there was a geyser of fire that shot up from the floor within inches of where Ray and the other two stood, separating her and them, kicking the fire alarm and the overhead sprinklers on. Drenching everyone and everything but didn't make a dent in the size of the geyser of fire.

Ray grabbed both Lee and Mariah by the back of their shirts, pulling them away from it and throwing them over the table behind him to get them out of his way, becoming a blur of green light as he shot through the geyser of fire and went after the woman.

In the blink of an eye she had grabbed him up by the throat, Kain still held in her free arm and on her hip. Holding his father by the neck, cutting off his air supply and forced him onto his knees in front of her. The heat coming from the palm of her hand seared his skin, his mouth gaped open as his scream was cut off without the air in his lungs. The geyser keeping the two of them separated from the others.

"What a foolish cat, you think you can stand against me?" Anette laughed, her nails digging into Ray's skin and drawing blood along his neck.

There, between the stillness and the rising heat, was a gunshot that resonated across the walls. Anette screamed, releasing Ray's throat as his eyes were fluttering close and was left falling forward on his hands as he sputtered and inhaled as much air as he could back into his airways. The geyser of fire quickly sucked back down into the floor from where it had sprung up, the sprinklers still going off as the fire alarm continued to blare.

Anette's fiery eyes turned on Kai, the barrel of his gun still smoking and trained on her as the wound in her arm healed over perfectly, the bullet being pushed out of her skin where it clanked against the tiled floor at her feet.

She tutted at him, wagging her finger in his direction like he were a naughty child. "You could have hit your son."

"I never miss." Kai's tone was deep and deadly, his eyes not leaving hers as he cocked back the hammer again.

"And I don't die." She cooed as her twisted smile returned, "But your son can, and will if you dare shoot me again."

"Put it down Kai!" Ray begged with what little air he had, gasping for another breath instantly as he was trying to put pressure on the puncture wounds on his neck to stop the trickle of blood.

"Then what do you want?" Kai asked, letting his arm drop at his side.

"You, and him." Anette said, nodding at Kain who had been left in a fit of tears in her arms.

"Why do you need me?" Kai asked, the wheels in his head turning faster.

"Because grandfather wanted this for you too, and I'm willing to let you stand beside me as we make his dream come true. Also, your son will need a father after all."

"Don't!" Tala begged as he grabbed hold of Kai's shoulder, seeing him going to take a step forward.

"Stop your barking!" Anette scorned, turning to him briefly before looking back at Kai. "You come with me, and they all live another day."

Kai's lips upturned into a smirk as the arm that held the gun turned on himself, "You may not be able to die, but I can."

"What're you doing?!" Tala yelled in a panic.

"And why would you kill yourself?" Anette asked, not looking amused at his joke as her brows furrowed.

"Better than becoming another puppet of Voltaire." Kai shrugged, "Blame it on instinct, but I don't think you need me just to continue being a father to my son."

Anette mimicked Kai as her own smirk came to her lips, "You're very smart there little brother, you're right. I have more plans for you."

"You want Black." Kai stated as he cocked back the hammer of his gun, pressing it harder into the side of his head.

"Exactly." Anette smiled, "Now put the gun down darling, there's children present."

"Put it down Kai!"

"Don't you dare do that to your son!"

Kai's hand faltered for a second, Ray's words hitting him hard. He was backed into a corner. On one hand he went with her and possibly lost all control if she woke up Black Dranzer's power and kept Ray and Tala alive a bit longer, on the other, he killed himself. Where at least he wouldn't be the cause of more chaos and destruction like Voltaire had always planned for him, leaving it in the others hands but that risked Ray and Tala's lives further.

"Come now Kai, it's time to go home." Anette cooed as she turned around to face him, holding out the hand that had been around Ray's neck only a few minutes ago with his blood on her nails.

Ray's eyes darted up to meet Kai's uncertain ones as he was recovering from the loss of air in his lungs, it wasn't often that it happened but there they saw what the other was saying in that moment. Kai's eyes moving from Ray's to Tala's, seeing the same thing in them for a second before they moved to Anette's.

Without much more hesitation Kai held his hand out, lowering his gun before he dropped it onto the floor and stepped towards her to take her hand in his. Anette's smile widened as her guard dropped for a second.

As the metal of the gun clacked against the tile of the floor Ray's body was once more a green blur, Tala running as fast as he could to grab hold of Kain from Anette's arms as Kai grabbed the woman's hand and jerked her into his chest with his arm wrapped around her neck and pressing it back into it hard, cutting off her airways as Tala stepped back with Kain screaming safely in his arms.

Everyone else too stunned to do more, not moving until they got the order to do so.

Ray was on his feet, pressing the barrel of Kai's gun into Anette's forehead as she smirked at him gasping for air. Her arms held behind her back, putting up a struggle against Kai's hold that she couldn't get out of.

The heat that surrounded them was immense, both pouring out their powers at the same time that Ray had to jump back away from them before he could put a bullet between her eyes. With the little air in her lungs Anette began to laugh, that same sadistic cackling that made everyone's skin prick upon hearing it.

"I offer you eternal life with your son by your side, and this is what you choose? Whatever grandfather saw in you I'll never know, you may bear the Hiwatari name but you're spineless." She hissed out low through grit teeth, trying again to get out of Kai's hold as the heat around them made the water turn to steam.

"Get him out of here!" Ray yelled as his son's cries became almost deafening over the fire alarm.

Tala stepped back, his blue eyes bouncing between his two lovers as he held Kain tighter to his chest and before he knew it he was running past the three of them, Mariah following in a pink flash of light.

Anette screamed as the door swung close behind him, trying harder to get out of Kai's hold. Sweat was pouring down Ray's face, his skin feeling like it was peeling away from the heat as the air quivered around them as the room continued to fill with steam.

"You need to go!" Kai yelled, struggling against Anette as she became more violent and thrashed around in his hold. The two burning each other, their clothing singeing away.

"What about you?!" Ray asked, his throat drying up from the inhaling the air that had also gone dry with the heat.

"Just go!"

Ray went to step back and put the gun back to Anette's head when the metal became too hot and he had to drop it, leaving another burn mark on the palm of his hand. Before he could step up to do anything the two before him were engulfed by a geyser of fire where they stood, Ray having to step back from it as he could feel the hair on his arms singe away.

"KAI!" Ray yelled over the sound of an explosion going off four floors below him, feeling the building shaking under his feet.

"We have to go!" Lee yelled as he grabbed Ray by the back of his shirt.

Max took Makoto from Hilary's hold, putting his arms around the boy as Tyson grabbed Hilary and was doing the same to her as they rushed out of the dining hall just as another explosion shook the entire building.

Bryan and Spencer rushed forward, the geyser of fire that had swallowed the other two up getting wider and almost blocking their exit as the four of them started to choke on the steam and smoke that was seeping into the air. They couldn't waste anymore time, with no other option left Ray grabbed Bryan by the arm, Lee doing the same to Spencer and in a flash of green and black light they were gone; stopping in the halls where the other four had gotten out and grabbed them up quickly.

Choking on the smoke in the stairwell another explosion sounded, the foundation above them crumbling away quickly, that by the time they made it out onto the street debris and chunks of the building were already falling away. Taking the two buildings standing beside it along with it, the alarms on the cars in the garage and along the street going off as the ground trembled violently under their feet.

Getting as far back as they could down the road, the night time traffic coming to a stand still as people stopped to stare as the building started to sink in on itself in a downward motion; as if the ground was sucking it up. In that moment it was as if time stilled, watching and hearing every beam and piece of concrete breaking as windows shattered and dust and dirt began to form large brown clouds like a skirt around the bottom of the building that it was sinking into.

Just as the top of the building started to follow the bottom of the building, a larger geyser of fire shot through and out in a ring that spanned out wide into the clouds of dirt and dust, before sucking inward and shooting into the sky with two figures stuck in the center of the fire until they were gone inside the black void of the night sky, with a tail of fire shooting up after them until it too dispersed across the sky in all directions.

Tala, with his eyes focused up on the sky as if he was still searching for where Kai could have gone, stepped up Ray on the side walk that was littered in dirt and paper. Pieces of glass scattered along the roads and sidewalk; sirens could be heard not far off in the distance as the others of the BBA were stood in shock at the piles of rubble before them.

Ray was left clutching to Bryan's arm, that was put around his chest where his back was pressed into Bryan's chest. Bryan having kept him from running back towards the building during it's free fall, letting him sob into his arm once the thrashing in Bryan's hold had stopped.

"Kit…" Tala breathed out as he stepped in front of the two, leaving Kain in Mariah's hold for the moment, cupping Ray's tear stained cheeks with his hands. Tears pouring down his own pale face as the two caught each other's eyes, Ray breaking down more in Bryan and now Tala's gentle holds.

"He's gone…" Ray breathed back in a hoarse whisper, he entire body shaking against Bryan's.

"We'll get him back." Tala choked up, though couldn't even force a smile at the moment.

"How?" Ray cried harder, "It's gone, everything for the past three years is gone!" He yelled as he threw an arm up at the piles of rubble that was once the BBA as the rest of the dirt and dust was still settling along the streets.

He paused as another sob got caught in his throat, "Oh God… Kenny…" He quickly covered his mouth, as if he was fixing to puke.

Tyson and Max, who were standing off to the side heard him, their hearts collectively sinking. Before Tyson could reach out and stop him, Max was rushing back down the road towards the piles of rubble.

"Max! Don't." Tyson cried after him, reaching him just as Max started to lift away the slabs of concrete as if they were made of paper.

Setting them aside, tears running down his face as he barely broke a sweat lifting and setting down the large slabs of the broken building, each motion just as fluid as the next, though the deeper he dug down the more and more the pieces underneath started to fall into each other.

"Max, stop… Stop it Max… MAX!" Tyson begged and pleaded, grabbing Max's shoulders and pulling him away as they both just stared down at what was left of the building they were standing on.

Lee's ears perked; the sirens were getting closer in the distance which meant they needed to leave. The crowds were getting thicker, pictures and videos were being taken and Kain was still screaming along with Makoto now.

"Ray!" He called, effectively grabbing the other's attention from Tala as the two were trying to cry over the other about what to do and how to do it.

It seemed to click why Lee had called for him, getting pulled out from the small piece of the world he had found himself lost in with just him and Tala at the moment; even if Bryan had yet to let go of him.

"We have to go…" He said in a panic.

"We'll go home." Tala nodded, rubbing the tears away from Ray's cheeks before he pulled away completely. "You can let him go now Bry." He smirked.

Bryan did as he was told, releasing the lax hold he had over Ray's chest and stepped back from him. "Got some claws on ya." Bryan mused as he checked over the arm that had been against Ray's chest, almost as if he was admiring the marks that were bleeding on his arm.

"I'm sorry." Ray's head went down some, till he reminded himself they needed to get out of there before the police showed up.

"Max, Tyson we have to go!" He called for them, watching the two wipe the last of their tears and come running back over to the group. "We're going back to our place, try and figure out what else to do. We can contact the BBA in America and Japan from there, but I don't know how long we can stay there because Anette knows where it's at." He instructed everyone, getting a collection of nods quietly back.

"Mariah." He looked around for her, she quickly stepping up to him and putting Kain in his arms. "Thank you." He breathed out hard, his tears threatening to come back quickly as Tala brushed a hand through the back of Kain's hair gently as his eyes welled up just the same.

"How're we getting out of here?" Mariah questioned, "It's going to be a long walk and all our vehicles are gone."

"We steal one." Bryan shrugged.

"Are you serious?" Lee hissed, Ray putting his free hand on his chest to stop the mindless fighting.

"We have no way else to get somewhere safe, unless you want to deal with whoever is fixing to show up. Police or the government, it's not safe here anymore."

Lee backed down, though the growl in the back of his throat was audible even to the Russians without enhanced hearing. Ray gave Lee a weak smile of appreciation, turning to Bryan as he held Kain closer to his chest who was still crying into his shoulder.

"See what you can find, we're going to get everyone else at least five blocks over. That's about as far as we can get everyone at once without draining ourselves."

"You shouldn't be doing too much." Tala jumped in quickly, his fears for their unborn child surfacing.

"I'll be alright." Ray shook his head some, turning back to Bryan. "Take Max with you, just in case."

Bryan gave a quick nod back, Spencer going with him to where Max stood with Tyson and his family. Quickly relaying their orders before they took off down the road in the opposite direction the others were preparing to go. Tyson was paired with Lee as Mariah paired up with Hilary and Makoto, Ray taking up Tala's hand in his free on and gave it a tight squeeze before the three groups of two vanished in their own different colored lights as the sound of the sirens echoed down the roads behind far behind them again.

* * *

Hours later, the children and adults fed and settled in for the night. Ray and Tala having gone over every inch of Kain's tiny body in search of marks or burns, finding none and both sighing collectively, they had set up a spare playpen in Kai's room. The house had never felt so full and empty at the same time, Ray giving his room to Lee and Mariah for the night, Bryan and Spencer down stairs on the couch in the living room where Tyson and Hilary, with Max and Makoto slept in Tala's room.

Everyone had showered before retiring to bed, the hot water running out long before Ray or Tala even had the chance to step into the shower in Kai's bathroom, though braved the cold water for a brief moment in silence before stepping back out into the large master suite. Kain was passed out, curled up on his side in the bottom of his playpen with his thumb in his mouth.

It had already been hard, stepping into the house without him, but now it felt like torture. That bed had never looked so big, the room as empty as it felt and it took all the other two had not to break down again as they crawled up on the firm mattress together.

"We're going to find him, I promise." Tala said in barely a whisper as Ray buried his face into his chest, the two putting their arms around each other quickly.

"I'm so sorry… She was right there, all along… I should have shot but I didn't want to hit him." Ray choked on a sob, trying hard to keep it down so as not to wake Kain.

"It's okay, we'll get him back. I promise." Tala soothed as he swallowed the lump in his own throat, holding Ray closer to his body. "I'm just glad I didn't lose all of you. You know him, he'll be alright."

Ray nodded a little, his body and mind exhausted but couldn't find it in him to close his eyes. Being enveloped by Tala and the lingering smell of Kai off the sheets and pillow of his bed, his body finally relaxing in Tala's hold though sleep still evaded him just as it was Tala. The two laying together, their hearts chipping away more and more with every passing second. Grabbing and holding onto each other tighter through out the night, awaiting the morning neither were looking forward to with the other member of their family currently missing.

The two holding onto not just each other but Tala's words. Kai was tough, had endured worse through his life. He would okay, he had to be because neither were sure what they would do if he wasn't.


	16. Chapter 16

**Alrighty guys, this will be my last update for a while as we're potentially going on vacation here come this week, if it falls through then I'll hope to have the next one out soonish... **

**A bit of backstory, we're bouncing back in time to the present again in this one. Wanted to give a bit of a backstory to our lovely mistress of doom and destruction. There are some hard scenes to swallow, so be warned. **

**Thank you all for the wonderful reviews last chapter, they really meant a lot to me even if I did seem to rip out most of ya'lls hearts there. Can't promise this one won't do the same, but either way enjoy it if you can and I'll see you whenever I either get back or sooner! **

* * *

**24 Years ago:**

_Small hands, those that belonged to a child no older than six, were covered in cuts and bruises. The pale, slim, fingers gripping onto her black and blue launcher as tightly as she could hold them. Sweat pooled down her pale face and neck, her dark-blue bangs sticking to her face as she panted to regain some of the air back into her lungs. The cold air of the night stinging the insides of her mouth, throat, and lungs. Her tired legs ready to give out on her at any moment, though with the eyes of her trainer held on her person she forced herself to stay standing. _

_ With a powerful cry that rose from her small belly, she pulled the cord with all she could. Sending the blue blade flying through the air, finally her tired legs gave out on her and she fell to her knees in the snow covered field. The chill rushing up through her damaged fingers and hands, instantly numbing them as she inhaled more of the cold air into her lungs. _

_ Not even noticing if the blade had actually hit it's intended target or not, hearing it still whirring as it spun in the dish no more than two feet away from her. "Get up!" Her trainer barked._

_ "I can't!" She cried back, shaking her head. Even her arms trembling to keep her from falling straight down into the snowy covered ground. _

_ "Get up Saisei!" The trainer barked again, pulling himself away from the wall he had been standing against to haul her back to her feet. _

_ "I can't, I can't don't make me." She begged as tears filled the corners of her crimson eyes. "Please…"_

_ The trainer let out a huff, grabbing her under the arm and hauling her to her unsteady feet. Making sure she had a balance, although a weak one, before he released her and bent down to her level. _

_ "You know the rules." He said in a gentler voice, "If you do this I'll sneak you some ice cream for dinner, how's that sound?" He bargained. _

_ Saisei nodded, before she slowly shook her strained and weak head. "But I can't… Please no more. Just for today." _

_ Her trainer sighed again, his heart clenching on him. He hated this, having to do this such a young child but he needed the money and his father had dragged him into this cruel cycle with him when he had been employed by Voltaire._

_ Growing up being a blader himself, he was entrusted to watch and train the young girl when he himself was barely a man. He was told to use any means necessary to get results, and the past two years since she was four it had been like this. Day to night, no end in sight, no matter how well she had done the day before her grandfather wanted, expected more from the both of them. _

_ There were talks about Fusing her, though he didn't understand what that meant at the time, but had been warned that he could possibly lose his position in being her trainer once the process started. He wasn't sure how much longer he had with her, to watch over her and try to give her the most normal of a childhood as he could give her within the hell she lived in. _

_ "I'm so tired though…" She sniffed, rubbing the tears away with the back of her arm. _

_ "I know, I know you're tired Saisei, just two more launches and we'll be done. Can you do that for me?" He asked, putting a gentle hand down on her trembling shoulder. _

_ "I don't know…" She hiccupped back. _

_ "And what if he comes in to look at your progress today? Do you want another lashing?" Her trainer asked, his dark brown eyes softening as he looked at her with pity in his young eyes. _

_ Saisei seemed to freeze up, even more so, at the man's words and slowly shook her head. Stepping up to the dish where her blade was still spinning, calling it back into the palm of her hand. Getting another cut in the flesh of her palm as the attack ring cut into her, flinching slightly before she clutched the blade tighter and stepped back to where she stood before. _

_ Holding the blade out in the palm of her hand, she glanced down at the chip that was nestled in the center. Taking in the striking form of Dranzer, her red feathers sticking out amongst the yellow of the bit. Drawing strength from her, feeling the blade warm in her hand and drew it closer to her chest. _

_ "Just a bit longer Dranzer…" She whispered soothingly to the blade, her head snapping back up in a new found determination and reset the blade in her launcher. _

_ "Three." Her trainer began the count down, taking his spot back against the wall to watch. _

_ "Two… One…" _

_ "Let it rip!"_

* * *

With a sharp intake of air, through his burning and painful lungs, Kai's head shot up off the top of a cold metal table. His head the only thing he could find to move, his wrists and ankles being locked down by metal cuffs. There was a pain coursing up and down his right arm, one that told him his shoulder was out of its socket and if he moved too much it would only cause more damage. Through the pain that seemed to blind him, not only his vision but clouded his head as well, there were bright lights hanging overhead. Everything almost a blur of what had transpired earlier, and despite the heat racing along his skin there was a chill to the damp air around him.

He looked no better than an experiment, laid out and bound to that metal table with the bright overhead lights hanging above him. His clothes singed; the minor cuts he had obtained already healed over with dried blood on his pale, bruising, skin.

Avoiding using his right arm, he tried to jerk himself free from his binds. Only to get a clack for his efforts, his teeth gritting as he forced the heat to rise though that only made the metal against him hotter and bite back. Causing his own burn marks to appear from the hot metal, a hiss escaping his lips and pulled the heat back within him quickly.

"That wasn't very smart of you, little brother."

Kai's head snapped to the voice, his crimson eyes narrowing as Anette stood against a stone wall. Looking better put together than he did at the moment, though did notice a cut that had healed along her left cheek.

"Where are we?" Kai demanded, and even talking hurt as it caused a pain in his lungs as he inhaled the cold air.

"Home." Anette smiled at him, "Missing one member, but soon enough he'll be here too."

"You fucking touch him again!" Kai bit out angrily, trying to struggle against the restraints again to no avail.

Anette pursed her lips together, tutting as she wagged a finger at him as she stepped closer to the table he was laid upon. "As if you're in any position to be making demands." She cooed in a sickly sweet voice.

"You've taken a lot out of me though, I'm impressed." She said gently, tracing her index finger along the side of Kai's face. "But he will be here, one way or another."

"I'll kill you…" Kai bit out through clenched teeth, jerking his face away from her touch.

Something in Anette's eyes changed, her smile quickly changing to a hardened frown. "You have cost me everything! All I have done was for _us_ and you've tossed it all away!" She screamed, smacking him across the face with the back of her hand and snapping his head with the force.

"I don't even know why I tried to get you onto my side here, why I would even bother after all this time of _hating_ you!" She yelled at him, pulling her hand down before she could strike him again as blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Grandfather was always a stupid fool, thinking you would ever be anything more than a weakling. You have shamed the Hiwatari name, forever forsaken it!"

With his arms and legs bound, the blood running down his chin and the flare in his head Kai cracked a smirk up at her, slowing turning his throbbing head in her direction.

"And that, has been my greatest pleasure." The words rolled off his tongue smoothly, the upturn of his lips not leaving his features as he met her hardened glare with a soft look in his eyes.

"I don't pity you, any. You think I care that Voltaire used you, tossed you aside like nothing because I came along? You're the weakling, seeking his praise even though you killed him." He scoffed with his own laugh caught in the back of his throat.

"Shut up!" She screamed as her hand came back down across the side of his face, though he had tensed before she hit and his head barely moved from the smack.

"Is the puppet going to cry?" Kai asked in a mocking tone.

"I said shut up!" Anette screamed as the room was taken over by her heat, instantly reaching its boiling point.

"You know nothing! You think you had it bad?! You think _I_ pity _you_?! You're the fool who tossed everything away, and for what?!" She continued to yell at him.

Kai's smirk widened into a full blown smile, "Because I was never alone."

Anette struck him across the face again, splitting his bottom lip open wider and opening a flood gate of his blood to pour out only for it to close back up again quickly. Though the blood was still there on his lips and chin.

"You will be." She hissed, grabbing at the metal tray that was placed above his head where he lay and picked off a medical scalpel, brandishing it for him to see.

"You do realize that I heal, right?" He asked in a cocky tone.

"I'm well aware baby brother." She smirked down at him, taking the blade to his skin in his arm where he flinched slightly as she dragged it down through the crease in his arm.

Kai did everything he could not to move, show that he was in pain as he breathed through his clenched teeth until she was done only for his skin to heal over and he smirked again.

"Oh look." He said mockingly.

"Yes, but that is just one little blade. Let's see how well your regenerative powers actually are. Shall we?" She asked, snapping her fingers together as she stepped back from him with the bloodied scalpel in her hand and inspecting his blood.

Out from the shadows in the room his table was surrounded by ten men in lab coats and medical face masks, each with a blade of varying size and shape held at the ready. One man had come up to stand behind Anette where she placed the blood soaked scalpel on a tray he had carried over to her.

"Take this to lab now."

The man nodded and backed away from her with his head low, disappearing in the overhang of darkness that filled the room aside from where Kai lay.

"Let's see how long it takes before we can wake _Him_ up, hm?" Anette cooed as she turned back to Kai, brushing back his bangs from his sweating face before placing a kiss to his brow and waved over her shoulder. The heavy metal door closing behind her, leaving him on the table under the blades of the men.

* * *

**21 Years Ago: **

_As the large oak doors were pushed open roughly, a terrible squeak filling the otherwise quiet estate, Saisei's head shot up from the table it had fallen onto during dinner. Being left to eat, alone, again in the grand dining hall with not even a servant nearby to keep her company. _

_ The moment her crimson eyes fell on Voltaire's face she quickly jumped away from the table, smoothing out her dress and hair as he approached and gave him a deep bow of respect as he came to stand and tower over her small nine year old frame. _

_ She was never to look him in the eye, never to address him as family even though she had parts of his blood coursing through her veins. She was the shame of the Hiwatari name, and he did well to remind her of that since she learned to speak. _

_ "Dr. Tupolev tells me you've not been feeling well." Voltaire's voice shook her to her core, though she nodded back slowly with her eyes downcast. _

_ Of course she hadn't been feeling well, not since they had stuck her in that giant tube three years ago and began the horrible process of fusing her with Dranzer. They said it was for the better, that she'd finally be accepted into the Hiwatari household if she went along with it. _

_ Giving up her only true companion, her only friend, she allowed them to take Dranzer from her only to become one with her. It was a terrible, painful, process and even more so on such a young child. Her pale skin was littered in the bruising from the tubes that were constantly stuck inside her arms, some in her legs, and the one that hurt the worse was the needle that always pierced into her vertebra._

_ Though this didn't mean that she could outwardly voice this to her grandfather, he'd take Dranzer away from her for good. She had to endure the pain; the sleepless nights covered in her own sweat regardless of how cold the room was. All because she wanted to please him, to have him really see her for what she could be. Long for what she wanted most. A family. _

_ "Very well, then I take it you don't wish to hold onto this?" Voltaire asked, holding up her blade in his large hand. _

_ Saisei's heart clenched, her eyes locking on the blade and Dranzer's picture in the middle of it and it alone. "Please, no. I'll get better, I promise. I'll do better, you'll see." _

_ "You know the rules, if you can't do this simple task then you will lose this and it will go to your brother. Is that what you wish?" Voltaire asked in a patronizing tone as he narrowed his eyes down upon her small form. _

_ She was small, even for her age, could see her trembling just being in his mere presence and had seen the bruising created along her arms. Yet felt nothing towards his own flesh and blood. _

_ "No sir." She shook her head quickly, once more throwing her head down to not look him in the eyes. _

_ "Then I expect to see results, Saisei." His voice rumbled low, commanding and demanding._

_ "Yes sir, I promise to do better." _

_ "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Voltaire scorned, turning his large frame to leave her. "I'll keep this for now, until I see results." He said, clutching her blade in his hand as he left her again in the large dinning room. Alone. _

_ The moment the doors were closed behind him, Saisei clenched her fists tight as she grit her teeth. Tears pricking in the corners of her eyes as her whole body trembled. Once more the threat of losing the only being who understood her hanging over her head, all for it to go to the Hiwatari's pride and joy; her baby brother who was no older than two at the moment. _

_ The anger swelled and bubbled inside her stomach; a surge of heat raced across her skin. It growing in strength before she realized what was happening, her head snapping back up as her crimson eyes blazed with a fire behind them and the fresh bouquet of flowers on the table burst into flames. _

_ With a startled yelp she turned as the smoke alarms went off, the smoke rising quickly and watched as the petals were eaten away by the fire that had come from nowhere. The heat that had been along her fading, her shock turning to fear before switching to amazement as she watched the flames dance. _

_ Slowly she held her hands out before her, looking down at the reddened palms where she could feel the sting of a fresh burn along her calloused skin. A smirk tugging at the corner of her lips, though the fear she briefly felt came back to settle into the pit of her stomach as questions filled her head._

* * *

Anette stood in her office before the one way glass into the pit that harbored her children, her hand placed on the cool surface where a few of them were hanging along the walls with their tarred, eyeless, faces staring back and making noises at her as if they could see her. Hearing the screams from down the halls as she had left the doors open, though neither a smile or smirk was on her lips as she listened to Kai as another blade was taken to his skin one after the other.

It had gone on for about an hour now, and if he was still able to scream or make any noise at all, and hadn't incinerated her men, then it meant he was holding back better than she could have imagined. He was desperate not to let Black take control again, had a stronger will than she had given him credit for. Though, if he had been broken down just like she had been at the hands of their grandfather, then she knew he could get him to break at some point.

Turning away from her children she swiftly went back to the room she had left him in, her strides long and powerful as her heels clacked along the stone floors. Throwing the doors open to the small room, just as another scream tore through the air.

"That's enough." She barked, there was a small heat in the room when she entered. Either he was tiring out, or he knew how to hold it all back in.

The men that had crowded around the table where Kai was trapped upon backed away quickly, drawing their blades back from him that dripped and were stained with his blood. The floor below the table no better, though every mark they had made against him had healed instantly.

Weakly Kai lifted his head, his chest heaving and now exposed with them having torn it apart to try and cut him there; adding to the scars he already had from years of being in the Abbey and throughout the rest of his life.

"You're really trying to piss me off, aren't you?" Anette asked as she stepped up beside him.

Kai cracked a smirk up at her, letting his head fall back against the metal table. "Gonna cry again?" He taunted.

Anette's hand twitched, wanting slap that look off his face something fierce. "I have a better idea." She smirked back, leaving his side into the shadows only to come back beside him with a syringe filled with ketamine.

"Shame you're not like Granger, though that would make this rather difficult." Anette's smirk grew before plunging the needle into Kai's arm, pushing down the plunger and administering the drug while he tried to fight back again.

Two minutes passed with his thrashing and threats that slowly died down, his eyes falling closed and his head slumping to one side as the drug took over.

"All bark and no bite." Anette tutted, placing the empty syringe down on the table by Kai's arm. "Take him to cell five with the other one." She ordered before sweeping out of the room once more, the doors swinging closed behind her.

* * *

**13 Years Ago:**

_"You lied to me!" Saisei yelled, jerking herself forward though was stopped by the two men holding her under the arms. Unable to lunge at Voltaire as he stood only a foot away from her with a smirk on his face, once more holding her blade in his hands. _

_ The once small child now forming into a woman of seventeen, though still smaller than her peers but had that undying fire in her eyes as she narrowed them at the man she had spent her whole life trying to please. She had done everything she could, yet now she was finally being tossed aside like she didn't matter. That everything he ever put her through didn't matter, the scars and bruises, to the experiments that nearly killed her, none of it mattered in his eyes and for the first time in her life she hated him. _

_ "You have done what's been asked of you, don't think I'm doing this because you have failed granddaughter. This is merely to pass the torch along, finish what you started." Voltaire said with an icy undertone, his eyes going stern at the display she was causing. _

_ Saisei faltered slightly, her eyes going wide as she felt a stab in her heart from nowhere. One word sticking out more than anything else he had said to her; granddaughter. He had never called her that before, not once, and the longer she looked at him she could see the stern look on his face slowly fading to one of pride. _

_ She had made him proud; she had finally done what he wanted. Yet that didn't stop the sting of him taking away her only friend. _

_ "But why does he need her? Why can't he have his own, she belongs to me!" She cried out desperately, succumbing to being restrained for the moment. _

_ "She belongs to ME!" Voltaire's voice boomed, "And I will pass her to who I wish!" _

_ Saisei recoiled at the yelling, every muscle in her body tensing as she hung her head where her long dark-blue bangs covered her face. "Please don't take her away from me…" Tears slipped down her pale cheeks, a small shuddering gasp leaving her lips. _

_ She didn't care if it made her look weak, something she was always reminded to not become. He didn't want weaklings, those who were got snuffed out without a second glance. She couldn't help it though, not when he was taking everything from her like this. Just to give Dranzer away to her brother. He was the weakling, the idiot who had disobeyed and blew up half of the Abbey and now could hardly remember his own name. He didn't deserve Dranzer, she wasn't his to have. _

_ "Don't think this means your training ends here, you will still be supervised and watched over." Voltaire informed coldly as he turned on his heel to leave her, the two men that had come in with him still holding under her arms tightly until he was away from her at a safe distance. _

_ Saisei's head lifted, glaring up from under her long bangs as her upper lip curled back in a snarl and her eyes blazed. The two men releasing their hold on her instantly as the heat seared through their gloves, stepping back as flames danced along her fingertips. _

_ "You're not taking her from me!" She screamed out like a wild animal, thrusting her right arm out towards Voltaire's retreating back, the flames on her fingers hurling towards him only to be stopped quickly by a wall of ice that shot up from the ground. _

_ Saisei's burning eyes shifted to the woman who stepped out from behind the doors, having chosen to stay back hidden in the foyer of the estate. Her icy-blue eyes clashing with Saisei's, her back straight and her shoulders squared up at the ready though didn't say a word to the younger woman. _

_ "For that. Your rations will be cut, three weeks." Voltaire said over his shoulder as if the attempt on his life didn't bother him, the wall of ice shrinking down from the ground that separated him and his granddaughter to nothing but a puddled of water on the floor. _

_ The woman that had stepped forward waited until Voltaire was safely outside the estate's front doors, keeping her eyes on Saisei's the entire time and watched as the flames on her fingers died away as the fire hidden behind her eyes went with them. The fight in her no longer there, her shoulders slumping forward again in defeat. _

_ The silent woman's eyes went to the two men who had come with them, seeing the silent command they rushed forward and made their hasty exit. The woman following behind them quietly, her fiery-red hair swishing around her back with her movements. _

_ "I hope your son fails." Saisei growled out low, her fists clenching at her sides as she listened to the woman walking away from her though didn't garner a response from her. The only noise was the front doors opening and closing, leaving her once more alone and this time without anyone._

* * *

Dull, pain filled, crimson eyes cracked open only to be met with the cold stone floor he had been left to lie on. There was another chill, eating away at his skin, that made him involuntarily shiver at. Calling forth his heat though for the first time in years it didn't respond, leaving him more confused than tired. His right arm pulsing with pain and even more so as he pushed himself to sit up, his back connecting with the wall behind him.

Shifting his eyes, which even they caused him pain, he took in his surroundings quickly and quietly; looking for a way out. The room he had been brought to was square in shape, small but not overly so, with another large metal door that was no doubt bolted shut and locked on the other side. There were no windows, no vents, just dirty and wet stone with a single overhead light that barely kept the room lit.

It took longer to realize there was something around his neck, twenty or so tiny needles piercing into the back of it that were set deep inside his flesh like teeth biting into him. Lifting his good hand he reached and tried and tug it off, getting a mild shock that made a hiss escape his tightly closed lips, retreating his hand from the device around his neck quickly where he felt the tingling aftershocks run their course in his fingers and hand and down his neck to his shoulders.

"Wouldn't do that."

Kai's head shot up at the familiar, unwanted, voice that came from across the room. His dull eyes widening at Brooklyn sitting there, much like he was, pressed up against the opposite wall with his knees drawn up to his chest though his arms laid limply at his sides and his wings were hanging at an odd angle over his shoulders. The longer feathers at the end brushing against the cold stone of the room, blood stained and looking unresponsive.

"The hell is going on?" Kai barked out, once more willing his heat to come forth but it didn't. "Why are you here?"

"I came to right my wrongs, though failed in my mission." Brooklyn answered in a calm tone, resting his head back against the wall behind him and focused up at the ceiling.

"She's broken both my arms, destroyed my wings and then placed this on my neck." He said, though unable to point to the device he was speaking of.

Kai grunted as he forced himself to stand up, even without his heat and powers a fire roared to life behind his eyes. His legs tired and weak, the drugs still clinging to him, his steps were unbalanced as he stalked over to where Brooklyn sat. He didn't need his powers to beat the shit out of him, and that was what he was going to do to the other man.

Brooklyn's head lowered as he heard Kai approaching him, a small smile gracing his lips as he saw the fight in Kai's eyes. He didn't move, watching as Kai got closer until he towered over him and Kai's left fist clench so tight his knuckles turned white before it came across his face. Snapping his head, the back of his skull hitting the wall behind him and felt a tooth chip inside his mouth where he could taste his blood as it pooled on the inside of his mouth.

"He trusted you!" Kai's voice boomed, though with a croak to it from the cold air. Shaking out his wrist from the impact, getting ready for the next hit his body was desperate to deliver.

"I know…" Brooklyn seemed to sigh, rolling his head back along the wall to take in Kai standing over him. "And I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough now!" Kai's fist came back, hitting Brooklyn square in the face where once more his head bounced off the stone wall with a sickening crack.

Before Brooklyn could even recollect himself, his eyes looking dazed from the second blow and the pain coursing along the back of his head down his neck and spine, Kai had gripped the front of his shirt and hoisted him up to his feet. Once more his arms could only dangle at his sides, unable to even put up a fight against him.

"You're _not_ sorry, not fucking yet." Kai hissed into Brooklyn's face, strangling the front of his shirt with his only working hand before he shoved him against the wall fully.

There was the sound of bones crushing, coming from Brooklyn's wings as they took the brunt of the force of being shoved into the wall roughly, though Brooklyn still didn't react from the sudden pain he felt in every nerve of his body. Still didn't put up a fight against him, either too weak to do so or that he felt he deserved it.

"Why?! I want to know why you would do this!" Kai demanded as he kept Brooklyn's body pinned to the wall with his own, not releasing the grip he had on the other man's blood stained and tattered clothes.

"You came into _my_ house, risk _my _son's life! _My_ families safety, and for what?!"

Brooklyn looked up into those crimson eyes that seemed to haunt his dreams since their second match all those years ago, the smile returning to his lips with another fluid grace.

"Because of you." He answered calmly, "Things change, as they sometimes do, I saw what she would achieve and knew she wanted you. I thought, at the time, that it was the perfect revenge. Awaken that demon inside you, watch you destroy the ones you loved and cherished. Though, I didn't expect the outcome that is now."

Kai's grip got tighter on the front of Brooklyn's shirt, his arms trembling with the pent up rage and adrenaline rushing through him. Wanting to beat his head into the wall until he was no longer breathing, though released him and stepped back. Releasing the tension in his jaw from gritting his teeth so hard, standing firm before Brooklyn with little to no room for him to actually move an inch forward.

"Which outcome? The fact that she has both of us here, that you betrayed Ray's trust and everyone else?!" He demanded to know once more, wanting to piece together the scattered puzzle being laid out before him.

"That I would fall in love." Brooklyn answered in that same calm tone, that only seemed to rile Kai up more. "It's a terrible, powerful, thing."

Kai narrowed his eyes at the other man, though didn't know what else to say to that particular comment at the moment. His fist itching to hit that calm look off Brooklyn's face, hit him for what he'd done.

"You could have stopped this."

"Obviously not, since I'm useless now to anyone." Brooklyn answered, letting his pounding head rest gently against the wall again and stare up at the ceiling again.

"It hasn't changed, none of it has. She's won." He breathed out heavily.

"Because of _you_." Kai's voice came out in a low growl that rumbled through his chest, his eyes narrowing harder as his fist clenched again. "If you had put aside what happened seven years ago, like I did, then we wouldn't be in this fucking mess."

"I know that." Brooklyn said as he closed his eyes, "At the time I wasn't thinking, wanted revenge for what you had taken away from me. What your friends took away from me." He let out a deep sigh with a short pause, opening his eyes again to look Kai in the face.

"I didn't want Ray to get hurt, let alone Kain. I didn't know about her wanting him until recently, and for that I apo-" He was cut off by another attack of Kai's fist hitting him in the jaw, jerking his head to the side and almost losing his balance as he stumbled along the wall. Trying to use it to keep himself from falling on the ground, more of his blood pooling in his mouth as another of his teeth chipped in his gumline.

"You _dare_ say either of their names again, you dare try and apologize for this shit again!" Kai seethed, the anger and rage coming back through him as he panted hard to catch his own breath.

"I don't care if you're sorry, it won't stop this! As you said, she's already won! She'll get what she wants, you'll get what you wanted!" He bit out, trying hard to release the tension in his muscles as he felt himself at the breaking point.

"And it's _you_ who will have to live with it all in the end. If you loved him, you would have told him the truth at the start."

Instead of the smile, a smirk formed over Brooklyn's face as he righted himself back against the wall. Using his shoulders to steady himself. "And what's that say about you?" He asked coolly, keeping his and Kai's fiery eyes locked.

A jolt shot down Kai's spine, though his fist didn't raise again to strike back at him. The tension he felt releasing and leaving him more tired along with the drugs still in him, surprised himself he hadn't yet collapsed to the ground.

"And I will live with that for the rest of my life as well." He answered in a painful breath.

Done with him for the moment he turned, retreating back to his side of the room and sat down roughly and pressed his head back against the wall behind him now. Brooklyn followed his lead, sliding down the wall once more and brought his legs up to his chest as his blood ran down the corner of his mouth. The two left to stare at each other until Kai turned away from him, staring at the door but his eyes had a far away look in them as if he wasn't altogether there anymore.

For the first time since Brooklyn had known Kai, he sat there and watched as silent tears began to roll down the Russian's face. Watched as he chewed so hard into his lower lip, in a failed attempt to stop them, that he was drawing blood. The subtle shake in the other mans shoulders, and the shuddering uneven breaths that came from him across the room.

For the first time, Brooklyn saw the fight in Kai die away. Saw it disappear like a snap of the finger within his eyes, the hope he had been holding onto vanish and was left with just a shell of the man he once knew before him.

And again, a smile formed along Brooklyn's lips.

* * *

**9-7 Years ago: **

_With the ending of the first world tournament, where the ragtag team known as the Bladebreakers had taken the world by storm and had won against the Demolition Boys, had saved the world from Boris and Voltaire's evil schemes. There was a rush throughout the blading world, the news stations all over sat on the topic through the months that followed. Voltaire was placed behind bars; the Abbey had been raided and the boys inside were freed from within it's stone walls. Boris had slipped under the radar, where he went to nobody knew but he alluded the police forces that were on the hunt for him. _

_ It wasn't until three months after the first worlds ended, the chaos that had ensued after finally coming to an end, did anyone ever come in and inform Saisei of what had happened to her grandfather. The estate she had come to call home since the moment she had been ripped from her mother's breast was sold out from under her, her only friend still in the hands of her brother and to never see her again, she was casted out onto the cold and harsher streets of Russia. _

_ If she were a mere child she would have been scared, though being a woman of twenty-one she could fend for herself. Could find a job and a home she could call her own, put the ugly past behind her now that her tormentor was no longer around to dangle her up like a puppet on strings. _

_ Yet, with every step forward there was a step back with whatever she tried to do. She had an unclaimed temper, a raging fire that was unquenched and any jobs she held she was promptly let go. Any romances she found herself in turning to dust between her fingers. She hadn't been brought up to know love and she didn't know how to love in return, the one thing she wanted the most still out of her reach; a family. With the experiments that had been done at such an early age had destroyed any chances at being a mother, and once more any passing thought she had about her grandfather she was filled with a rage that she couldn't control. _

_ He had stolen years off her life, had taken everything from her only to waste it away on the pride and joy of the Hiwatari name. When the boys had been released from the Abbey, she had met Dickenson and he too looked at her as if she was nothing. If she hadn't grown up in the Abbey, then there wasn't a need for concerning himself with her and once more she was tossed to the side as if she was nothing. She was old enough to take care of herself, he concluded, it was those poor boys that needed him and his full attention and that brief encounter ended with him turning his back on her just like everyone else did. _

_ With nowhere to go, with no one beside her, she found herself sleeping on the streets and eating from the bottoms of dumpsters just to stay alive. The cold nights weren't as bad as they could be, not with the power of Dranzer coursing through her veins, though having to constantly use her powers to keep herself alive took a daunting toll on her starved and weakened body. _

_ After living on the streets for almost a year since the first worlds had ended, shivering from the cold for the first time in fifteen years, her stomach trying to eat itself to survive. She was on the verge of giving up, not even her own mother wanted her anymore after having been paid enough to give her up. Those that walked by her, huddled into herself against the back of a building she had found for slight cover from the fresh snowfall, they passed by without a look her way as she watched their feet crunch along the snowy covered sidewalk with a fast step as if they were trying to run away from her. _

_ It wasn't until someone stopped to stand above her did she bother to look up, forcing her frozen body to work on her as her neck craned back and her dull colored eyes met dark brown familiar ones. He had aged, just like she had, and instead of the training gear he used to wear he was dressed in a business suit with a small pin of their country's flag pinned to the collar of his suit jacket. _

_ Without a word the man bent down to squat before her, her eyes following his every movement as she couldn't even form words at the moment upon seeing him again. He too had been taken away from her once the Fusion process had begun on her, getting a new trainer to oversee her, though he looked to be doing just fine on his own now after all these years. _

_ Although he had been stern, because he needed to be, he had also been kind to her. Had made sure she was taken care of, had kept her fed in secret when her rations had been denied from stepping out of line. They had only known each other for two years, but she had cherished that time with him. Had never forgotten how kind he had been to her. _

_ "Saisei?" His soft voice questioned as he carefully reached up and pulled the tattered hood of her jacket off her head, revealing her dark-blue hair to him that was now cut just below her chin to better manage while being on the streets. _

_ "It is you…" He seemed to breathe, "What happened to you?" He questioned, gently putting a gloved hand to her cheek and tilted her head up to look him in the eyes. _

_ "They took everything from me…" She whispered in a dry, hoarse voice before she choked on the cold air that had seeped into her lungs. _

_ "I saw what happened, but I didn't think you'd have suffered more because of it." The man sighed, slowly shaking his head. "I am so sorry, Saisei." _

_ Through her coughing and choking, her eyes darted back up to look him in the face. Her body wracked with pain as it shook with the force of her shaking and coughing, unable to question him at the moment though he seemed to read it in her dull colored eyes. _

_ "I should have done something sooner, got you out of there. I was just too young to do anything though; I had no way to really help you." He answered the unspoken question, his dark brown eyes softening once more. _

_ "N-not your… Your fault." Her teeth chattered, pulling her arms around herself tighter as she tried to gain enough strength to warm herself though unable to. The coughing fit now subsided though it left her already tired body more sore and in pain. _

_ "Why don't you come with me?" _

_ Saisei's eyes widened considerably at the offer and before she could stop it, really sit and think about it, her head began to turn slowly. "I don't want to-to hurt you…" _

_ "Come now, you won't. Let me take care of you, the right way this time." He never once lost his kind smile, standing himself up by pushing on his knees and held a hand out for her to take. _

_ With a shaky hand she reached out and took hold, letting him pull her to her feet and let him place an arm around her shoulders to keep her steady as he walked her down the sidewalk towards his car. _

_ It was a slow healing process, the first few times she had something to eat it only came back up. The showers she took always felt like needles in her skin, yet she had been able to endure it to wash the grime and dirt off. Despite the warmth of the apartment she had been brought to, the hot food she eventually was able to stomach and keep down, and her strength returning she still didn't feel any better. _

_ The kind man lived alone, so it wasn't as though she was intruding on his life too badly, but she was still a guest in his home and had no way of repaying him for all he had done the past two years she had lived with him. He never asked for anything in return, as if seeing her getting better was all that mattered to him. _

_ His dream of being promoted to director had finally been fulfilled, offering her a job alongside him that she took up without protest. Still, even with a roof over her head, food in her stomach, a job, and her powers returned she felt unfulfilled. _

_ It was then, late at night with the two of them watching the news did the idea she had been playing in her head for the past year that she turned to him. Taking her eyes off the destruction that had been caused by a young boy with red-orange hair in Japan, who she could see had been through the Fusion process much like she had. He hadn't had a very good hold on his powers, was the first time she had ever laid eyes on Boris as the news station was covering the arrest after it showed the destruction caused by a simple beyblade match. _

_ No doubt this was also due to her grandfather's plans in taking over the world, his first set of soldiers having been freed by Dickenson almost three years prior he was on the hunt for more. How many there were out in the world now like her, she wasn't sure at the moment, yet the ideas in her head kept twisting and convulsing. _

_ Right there she could see one potential candidate for her plans, in the form of Brooklyn, the boy who destroyed blocks upon blocks of the city. There had been a brief moment where she caught a glimpse of her brother, not so little now, on the screen during the coverage of the wreckage that had been created and how he had been crowded around by other boys his age once the battle had ended. Setting her gut ablaze as she watched him smile at those around him, no doubt the same ones who had been with him during the first worlds. _

_ "What would you say if I told you I want to kill my grandfather?" She asked as if she were speaking about the weather. _

_ "Excuse me?!" The man sputtered; eyes wide as his head jerked away from the news that was playing. _

_ "I'm not asking you to do anything, I can do it myself, but I want to do this." _

_ "Saisei…" The man seemed to beg, though saw the fire in her eyes. "It won't change what's happened." _

_ "I know, but look at what he's done to another person." She started, motioning to the TV across from them and got up, standing between the couch and it as she pointed back at the screen of the TV. _

_ "We're alike, there could be more like us after this… BEGA… Thing, on top of the ones from the Abbey." She seemed to scoff at the name, "I can find them, train them properly." _

_ "And do what?" _

_ "What I was raised to do." Saisei answered quickly without batting an eye, "The position you hold can help me, all I need from you is your blessing to do this." _

_ "You realize a lot of innocent people will get hurt." _

_ "Of course I do, but why should I care? They never cared about me!" She screamed back at him, prompting him to rise to his feet and put his hands on her shoulders. _

_ "I care about you." He said, rubbing her shoulders with the pads of his thumbs. _

_ "Then let me do this." She said as she looked him in the eyes, "You owe me that much." _

_ For a moment the man went silent, staring back into her eyes that were set in determination like he remembered them to be when she was just a child. _

_ "Tell me what you need me to do."_

* * *

Anette let out a sigh as she looked over the papers in her hands, running through what her next step could be in getting Black to surface and take control of Kai. Having watched the two of them from a hidden camera inside the room she had put him in with Brooklyn, surprised that he hadn't killed him outright, though with the collar around his neck and keeping him from using either Black's or Dranzer's powers maybe he was waiting until it was removed to unleash his fury on the other male.

No longer was she watching, more worried about the results from the tests that she had run from the supply of blood she had acquired from her brother on top of trying to find a way to get his son now.

The others would still likely be recovering from the attack, though they would all still be together and she'd lose more of her children to them if she sent them out right now. If she had to hold off on acquiring Kain a little longer, she could do that and focus on the task of awakening Black for now. She was still a step ahead of them, just as she always had been, and with the confirmation from Brooklyn that she had won and the future hadn't changed it only emboldened her plans of waiting for the final piece.

Enjoying the silence for the moment, reading over what she could potentially do with her brother's blood, her painted lips twitched into a smile. With butterflies of excitement in her belly she turned to her computer that sat on the corner of her desk, quickly pulling up the video app and hit the call button. It wasn't long before the window was taken over, Roman's dark brown eyes staring into the screen with a slight scowl on his face.

"What is it?" He questioned, though that didn't stop her from looking like an excited child at Christmas.

"I did it." She stated proudly, "I have Kai, and with his blood I can make the Savages immortal if I combine it with my own."

Roman's scowl faded slightly as he nodded some, "And what of Kain?"

"They still have him, but for now we'll focus on Black. I also have Feathers here with me, and his blood is proving to be just as useful as Kai's." Anette stated proudly, her smile still intact.

"Why not send a few Savages to go after them now?"

Anette waved off the question, "They'll be able to fight against them, be expecting an attack, if we let them sweat it out and wait when they least expect it then we'll have him."

Roman nodded back at her plans, "I'm proud of you."

Anette's eyes watered slightly, "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you, you know that. You're the only person who has ever been there for me, the only one who saw what I was capable of."

"It's not over yet, you still have a long way to go."

"And we'll get there." Anette said quickly, sitting back into her chair some. "Maybe Valkov's mutt can be useful after all, we'll just have to wait and see."

Roman nodded again, "Whatever you need me to do."

Anette giggled like a school girl, swiveling in her chair a little. "How about dinner at your place tonight?"

"I'll see you there."

"Good." Anette smiled back, ending the call and closing down the window off her screen.

Going to the desk drawer on her right, plucking out a small box from inside and opened the top of it. Placing the single cut diamond ring over her ring finger, admiring it for a minute with a content sigh before placing the box back into the drawer. Turning off her computer and placing the papers she had received earlier in a neat pile on the top, she stood up from her desk and grabbed her coat from the hook by the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow my darlings." She cooed over her shoulder at the pit of Savages behind the glass, flicking the switch to the lights and casting the room in darkness before she stepped out.

Her smile unwavering as she left to return home.

* * *

**2 Years ago:**

_Voltaire's old, aging face lifted to the door of his cell as it creaked open. His crimson eyes straining for a moment as he took in the woman stepping inside the small space with him. He hadn't been expecting visitors, not only that he hadn't heard the guard that was posted outside his door for quite sometime now. _

_ "Who are you?" He questioned in a rough voice as the woman closed the door behind her, staying in front of it with a smile on her painted red lips. _

_ "I should be offended you don't recognize me, grandfather." She cooed in a fake hurt tone, watching as Voltaire's eyes widened and shone with recognition. _

_ "Then again, I'm not that surprised you don't remember me." She said as she peeled her back away from the door, stalking over towards where he sat on a lone chair in the corner of the cell. _

_ Voltaire scoffed, "One doesn't remember mistakes, and that's all you ever were child." He said arrogantly as he turned to face her better. "But do humor me, why are you here?" _

_ "Family emergency, you see I got a call about a funeral and made sure I was able to come and give my respects." _

_ Voltaire's brows knitted together in confusion, "Who do you mean? I talked to Kai just a month ago." _

_ Saisei chuckled, the sound forcing a chill to run down Voltaire's spine. "Oh no, he's quite healthy and well. From my understanding, he's also about to be a father. Potentially." _

_ "Yes, he's told me of that as well. So if it's not him, then who?" Voltaire questioned as he narrowed his eyes. _

_ Saisei smiled as she got down to come eye level with the old man, placing a hand on his shoulder with the other on the opposite knee. Holding his gaze with hers and letting an uncomfortable silence come between them for a moment, calling forth her heat slowly until Voltaire felt it under his clothes and squirmed to get her off of him. _

_ "Why you, dear grandfather." She sang out in sickly sweet voice, the heat radiating from under her palms where they burnt into his clothes. _

_ "What is the meaning of this Saisei! Stop it, stop it now!" He wailed, unable to fight her off in his old age and the grip she had on him. _

_ She tutted back at him as her eyes blazed dangerously, flames flicking out from under her hands and burning straight through his clothes and catching fire instantly. _

_ "I don't go by that name anymore, that is the name you gave me and I've always hated it. Have always hated you!" She sneered, her fingers digging in deeper into his clothes that were burning away as the flames slowly licked up the side of his neck from his shoulder and up his thigh from his knee. _

_ "I've chosen the name Anette, the one my mother gave me." She growled out low, over the sounds of Voltaire's pained screaming as he writhed under her touch and fire as it ate away at his body. _

_ "But don't worry, dear grandfather." She spat out at him, releasing her hold on him as his entire body was covered in her fire. "I will see to it that your vision comes true, but it will be mine and mine alone from now on." She stated as she stood up, watching the fires blaze and watched him drop out of his chair in an attempt to snuff out the flames around him. _

_ She watched his failed attempts a moment longer before turning on her heel, going back to the cell door and opening it up before stepping through without a look back. Closing him off inside it as the flames grew in size and started to overtake the entire room and everything in it, in the halls the fire alarms were going off as she made her way through. The guard that had been posted outside the door laid out on the floor behind her in a pool of his own blood, not sparing him a second glance either as she had taken her leave. _

_ Once outside, she stepped up to the car awaiting her and slid into the passenger seat. Rom an giving her a questioning look, though didn't say anything as he drove them away from the prison in silence. Though when he turned to look at her as they came to the first red light she was turned away, staring out the window, but could see the silent tears rolling down her pale cheeks. _

_ "Saisei…" _

_ "Don't." She bit out through a small sob, "Not now." _

_ Roman nodded back to her, though took his hand off the wheel and took up her hand closest to him and held it tightly. _

_ "I'm proud of you." He said gently, squeezing her hand in his and watching her lips tremble as she fought back a smile. _

_ "I'm not done yet." She said as she finally turned to look at him, her tears still rolling down her cheeks. "He was just step one, next is Dickenson." _

_ "Tell me what to do." Roman said, lifting the hand in his hold and pressing a kiss to her fingers. _

_ "Dickenson first, and then dinner." She responded, slipping her hand out from his hold as finally a smile cracked along her face and placed her hand back into her lap. Turning to look out the window again, watching the buildings go by quietly as he drove them towards the BBA headquarters. _


	17. Chapter 17

**Yay! I'm back! Took the week to not really bother with writing, just kind of enjoyed the little bit of time I had left before I got to cracking down on the updates here. **

**Thank you everyone for your reviews last chapter, I'm glad ya'll liked the background on Anette/Saisei I gave you.  
**

**Anyways, since I think I've scarred you all one too many times with my other fics and this one I'ma let ya'll know right now that no one else in this story is going to die. Not any main characters at least. Ya'll can breathe easy, the baby will be born just fine, Kai isn't going to die, I promise. Writers honor.  
**

**Also, if ya'll aint crying by the end of this chapter or at least shed a tear I need to rethink my life choices. **

**With that I'll let you get to it! Enjoy my darlings!**

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The overfilled house was quiet, everyone who had come to crash for the time being still fast asleep in their rooms they had been given with the other two Russians laid out on the couch in the living room. Ray had been quiet enough to slip out of bed and down the stairs, not disturbing any of them as he had made his way into the kitchen. The only other one awake was Kain, crying and fussing because he was hungry. It was by some miracle Tala had stayed asleep the moment Kain had started crying, though Ray was grateful for that; Tala needed the sleep after staying up through the entire night holding him until he had passed out in his lover's arms.

Grabbing the formula and baby oatmeal down from the cabinet, along with a bottle and bowl to mix the two together, he got to working on preparing the food Kain needed. Though through his still broken nerves, the low energy he was trying to run on, and his mind not completely with him after the past events of the day and night before he hadn't caught his mistake. The powder for the formula being dumped right on top of the flakes for the oatmeal in the bowl, it wasn't until he was about to dump the second scoop of formula powder into the bowl did he catch his mistake.

"Great…" He muttered under his breath, taking the entire bowl and dumping it into the trash before coming back to stand in front of the counter to properly fix up the food.

His ears perked, his sense of smell catching Tala and Kain coming into the kitchen with him quietly where he came to stand behind him. The babe on Tala's hip, finally his crying fit subsided now that he was being held.

"Kit, you didn't need to get up and do this. I would have." He said softly as he ran his fingers of his free hand through the back of Ray's hair gently.

"You needed the sleep." Ray sighed back heavily, having been trying to keep the ever darkening tension from seeping over his head though with Tala coming in it was like he brought it into the kitchen with him. Unable to avoid it now, suffocating on it.

"You were up all night, I'm fine." He added after a few seconds of silence between them, making sure to fix Kain's food the more proper way.

"You need the rest more than me, think of the baby." Tala cooed, not wanting to risk anything more after the first scare they had two days ago with the cramping.

Ray's back tensed slightly, of course he needed to think about their unborn child but right now there just seemed to be more important matters at hand. That thought made a terrible feeling hit his heart, it was unfair to think such a thing like that but with his mind being stretched so thin as it were he wasn't thinking straight at the moment. He knew he couldn't keep risking their child's life the way he had been, he hadn't been expecting the attack though and had been planning to go to the Village with Mariah and Kain but now he wasn't so sure what the right plan was anymore.

"I'll rest in a minute, I'm just feeding Kain." He explained back, stirring up the oatmeal with the formula he had successfully made and took the bowl to the table and sat it down as Tala followed behind him and placed Kain into the highchair.

Before Ray had the chance to pull a chair up and sit down, Tala snatched the bowl from the top of the table as Ray went to reach for it again. Having seen the dark circles under his eyes, the way he had been dragging his feet, and was intent on sending him back to bed.

"Go back to bed, I got this." He scolded, pointing behind Ray at the archway of the kitchen.

"Tala…" Ray began though stopped when he watched Tala's eyes narrow at him.

Deciding he didn't want an argument with him at the moment he did as he was told to do, like a petulant child being sent to bed without dinner, and huffed as he walked back towards the stairs that would take him back to Kai's room.

Tala watched him go with a victorious smirk on his face before Ray disappeared around the corner of the foyer wall, sitting himself down in the chair Ray had been going to occupy and grabbed up the bowl of food.

"Why are your daddies so stubborn?" He asked the eight month old in a slight huff, lifting a spoonful of the goop out for Kain.

"Da-da." Kain said before he leaned towards the offered food with his mouth open.

Tala's heart clenched, was that his first word? And he was the one to have been there to hear it compared to the other two? It wasn't necessarily a good feeling, but he was also thrown into a small fit of excitement by it.

"Can you say it again? Da-da." Tala asked as he pulled the spoon away from Kain's mouth, waiting in excitement to see what the babe would do.

Kain's big crimson eyes stared at him for a minute as if he were processing the words, a wide small toothy grin spreading along his pale face as his chubby hands hit the tray of his high chair with an excited squeal.

"DA-DA!" He legs kicked out, his hands hitting the tray more excitedly.

"That's right! Da-da!" Tala grinned excitedly, before it fell a little at the baby faced version of Kai sitting in front of him. Reminding him that he wasn't there, that they didn't know where he was or if he was even alive.

"Here, let's eat up buddy." He sighed out painfully, scooping up more sloppy oatmeal onto the spoon and offering the food out to him.

Kain took it with excitement, the only one who seemed to be able to stay in a good mood so far; aside from when he had woken up screaming.

"What do you want to do?" Bryan's voice traveled to Tala's hearing, the older male standing in the archway of the kitchen and living room where he had emerged from as he leaned his side into the frame.

Tala let out another sigh, focusing on feeding Kain as he thought over his options best he could. They didn't have the slightest clue where Anette and Kai could have gone to, didn't know what dangers and other problems awaited them and even being in the house was like walking on glass because Anette knew where they lived; which had kept him from falling asleep. All of them were exhausted, not equipped to fight off a horde of Savages if one were to just show up out of nowhere or Anette herself it seemed. Her goal was Kain, now that she had Kai and that was even if she did, but none of them were safe staying where they were at the moment.

"We'll need to discuss it with everyone, Ray was wanting to send the others and kids to his village… Beyond that, I don't know. If Anette was working for the BBA, we can assume she knows how to attack the ones in Japan and America like she did here. We don't know enough about her, who's working with her aside from Roman, I just know we can't stay here for too long."

Bryan nodded slowly at his ex-captains words, shoving himself away from the frame of the archway and stepping into the kitchen where he sat down at the table across from Tala. Kicking his legs out in front of him under the table, resting into the back of his chair as he let a small silence come over them as Tala fed a few more spoonful's of food to Kain.

"We also don't know if he actually has any powers, like Anette suggested." Bryan said as he eyed the babe in the highchair, "Kenny never came back up, we don't know what the results were or if he was even able to start."

Tala nodded, that had been on his mind some as well as everything else. What Anette had said about him having both Dranzer and Driger's powers in him was something that had crossed his mind from time to time, though if he was as strong as Anette had said then surely they would have noticed a manifestation of those powers at some point already.

"Maybe she's wrong." He hoped, wished that were the case because if she was right and Emily's theory was right, that meant his child would also have powers and that put a target on their back like Kain had one on his.

"One way to find out." Bryan said coolly, Tala's head snapping to him quickly with a look of question on his features.

"How?" He felt he should ask, just to clarify as he himself was trying to figure out a way on how to test for these hypothetical powers of Kain's.

"Prick his skin, see if he heals like Kai does." Bryan answered without so much as batting an eye.

"Kai has more powers than that though." Tala answered as an uncomfortable chill ran down his spine at the idea of purposely hurting Kain just to test the theory.

"True, but it's the only one we can really test for without a lab."

Tala nodded a little, looking back at the babe he had been feeding where their eyes met and once more got a toothy smile in return. Although they weren't blood related that had never stopped him looking at Kain like his own son, it was only natural that he did so when he loved both of his fathers just the same, the thought of hurting him on purpose still not settling in his stomach right.

"I'll ask Ray about it." He said, going back to feeding their son without looking back at Bryan who had nodded and just sat back and watched quietly.

With Kain fed, Tala grabbed him out of the highchair to take him back to Kai's room to put him down with the bottle Ray had prepared. Kain gripping onto Tala's side, his fingers clinging to his shirt as he was carried up the stairs and back into Kai's room.

The moment he opened the door to the bedroom, Ray was standing there in the center of it with his hands on his hips and a hardened look on his face. Tala swallowed around the lump in his throat, of course he had heard them.

"No." Ray said quickly in a deadly tone.

Tala ignored him for the few seconds he took to walk past him and put Kain down in his playpen with the bottle, turning to Ray who had spun around watching him. Carefully putting his hands down on Ray's shoulders, feeling him tense up under his hands.

"How else are we going to figure it out?" Tala asked gently.

"We're not taking a knife or something to him to see if he heals! What if he doesn't, then we've hurt him for no reason!" Ray argued back quickly.

"We don't have to use a knife; it'd just be a small needle prick like he was getting a shot."

"I said _no_." Ray growled out low, jerking himself from under Tala's hold. "Of course _Bryan _would think of such a thing, the sick bastard…" He muttered as he walked away from Tala to the other side of the room to put up a distance between them, though now knew Tala could hear him just as well he could hear him.

"Kit." Tala warned quickly in a bark as once more he was having to turn around to face Ray.

Ray's head snapped over his shoulder to take him in, his pupils quivering as they were to the point of almost slitting. "He's just a baby!" He yelled, throwing an arm out and pointing at Kain who glanced at him from on his back with the bottle in his mouth.

"I know, I know Kit. It's just a small prick, I promise. But we need to know."

"Why? Why do we need to know?!" Ray bit back.

"Because think of ours! What if Emily's theory is right? That means not only is Kain in danger from Anette, but so is ours!" Tala fired back quickly, "Anette said she could tell Kain has both Dranzer and Driger, _you _saw him eight years from now with Dranzer's wings and a heat coming from him! It'd be no different than what Kenny was trying to do last night, why are you so against it now?"

"Because I'm afraid she is right…" Ray breathed out heavily as his shoulders trembled, "That I can't protect him because of it… That I won't be able to protect this one either." He explained as tears pricked his eyes, his hands coming down to rest over his swelling stomach.

"You didn't see what I saw… I don't want it to be right… That I only saw that because she Fused him, not because he was born with them because I do fear for ours the same…"

Tala's face softened, another weight falling on his shoulders as he cautiously stepped up to him though Ray met him in the middle of the room. Wrapping their arms around each other quickly, Tala burying his face in the top of Ray's hair where Ray buried his face into Tala's shoulder.

"It's going to be alright; I'm not going to let her get her hands on our babies. They're going to be safe; I promise." Tala breathed into Ray's hair, pulling him in tighter to his chest as his hands gently caressed his back through his hair.

Ray's mouth opened to speak, to argue with him again about how he thought that was impossible now that she had Kai. That everything they were going to face was going to be the hardest they had ever had to face, though closed it and nodded into his chest quietly instead. Soaking up the comfort, the love he needed at the moment that Tala needed just as much.

He didn't want to believe it, though he knew he had to try, that they would stop what he had seen from happening. Brooklyn's words echoing in his head- 'the end has been decided'- and fought the shiver running down his spine as well the punch to the gut he felt when he remembered their kiss. The one that he had initiated, the one that had terrified him now.

"Tala…" He breathed, gripping onto his back harder.

"Yeah?" Tala hummed into his hair, slowly swaying them from side to side as he felt himself tense at what Ray could bring up next.

"I'm sorry…"

"What for?" Tala asked, gently pulling them apart to look him in the face. Noticing his eyes brimming with tears, a heartbroken look over his features.

"I kissed him… Brooklyn…"

A soft chuckled passed Tala's lips, "Okay."

Ray blinked a few times, had he not heard him right? Noticing the look on Ray's face Tala leant down and pressed their lips together in a gentle touch, lingering for a few seconds before he pulled back and smiled as his icy-blue eyes gleamed.

"Hope that washed away the terrible taste of him."

Ray fought hard not to smirk at the dig, though nodded back to him. "Maybe another one wouldn't hurt, can still kind of taste him."

Tala's mouth upturned into his wolfish grin, happily pulling Ray in closer and planting his lips back to Ray's in a more forceful kiss than the previous one. Their chest coming together again, neither sure which had pulled the other closer at that moment, their mouths moving against the other quickly as Tala parted his lips for Ray's tongue that slid in at the invitation without hesitation.

"Da-da!"

They jerked away from each other at the sudden interruption, half forgetting that they had a small audience in the few moments of bliss they had found themselves in.

"He said that back downstairs too." Tala stated proudly as he finally unraveled his arms from around Ray's back, Ray's own arms slipping down and back to his sides.

Ray nodded as once more tears filled his eyes, "He's calling for Kai…" He choked out, "He started calling him that a few weeks ago."

Tala's eyes widened before he felt the same punch to the gut Ray had felt, he hadn't realized. Had thought Kain had just mimicked him, not having thought Kain had actually started calling for one father over the other yet.

"Da-da!" Kain bounced, having stood himself up in his playpen and holding onto the side of it.

"He's not home yet buddy." Ray choked as he moved around Tala to pluck Kain from the playpen, holding him up to his chest.

"We'll get him back." Tala said behind him, forcing the terrible feeling down before it could rise any higher within him. Stepping up and putting a hand down on Ray's shoulder, "I promise."

"We need to make a plan, before everyone's safety is compromised more just by being here." Ray said, once more Tala seeing his boss mode kicking in on him despite the tears still creating a thin film over his eyes.

"We'll do what you think is best."

"Thanks…" Ray sighed, stepping out from under Tala's hold and going to the bedroom door in order to leave the room behind.

Two hours later, the others more awake and with something in each of their stomachs, they found themselves crowding around the table inside the dining room. The eight person table holding them all except Max, where he had made himself comfortable standing beside Tyson at the far end and to his right.

"Our best option, for the time being, is for everyone here to go to the village with us. Until we can figure out the next step, whether that's waiting for Anette to make her next move or to bring the others and group up with them at the village before we can come back." Ray started, sitting at the head of the table; where Kai would always sit.

"Why don't we just go to one of the other BBA's?" Tyson asked from across Ray at the opposite end, "Wouldn't that make it easier to have everyone there, with a lab we can use to keep working?"

Ray slowly shook his head some, "Because we don't know if the other BBA's will be targeted, she knows where they are, knows who works there and we can't be for certain if there are others within the BBA that are working for her."

"Then how do we make sure that we're able to move everyone whose on our side, with us?" Max questioned, "If we go and uproot everyone from the BBA's in America and Japan, that risks bringing her followers and jeopardizing everyone."

"We'll take those we know personally, those we can trust and those who have been with us from the start. I'll be contacting Johnny and Oliver once we move, let them know what's happened." Ray said as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the top of the table and folding his hands together where he pressed his mouth into them.

"Is there a chance they'll actually come this time?" Lee seemed to scoff to Ray's left.

Ray slowly shook his head some, keeping his mouth pressed into his hands as his eyes slipped closed. "If we have to, we'll force their hand. It's time they stopped running from this, they agreed to it like we did and went through it like we did so there isn't a reason for them to stay out of the mess anymore. I'll also be contacting Julia and Raul, Miguel and Crusher."

"We have the room, the means to keep everyone stable and safe for as long as we need." Lee spoke again, his arms pressed around his chest as he hadn't moved his focus off Ray's profile before him.

"I appreciate it." Ray breathed, removing his elbows from the table and back into his chair. "We'll do what we can to move the labs, every bit of data from the BBA in America over so that way we can still work on the reversal process. This is something that can take weeks, or months. We have to prepare for any and all scenarios here." The others around him all nodded in agreement, all but Tala who shifted in his chair on Ray's right.

"I'm staying."

Ray's eyes shot to him, "No, you need to come with us."

"I can't leave him here, but for the sake of the kids and yourself you need to go with everyone. I have a few ideas on where she might have gone, but it's a matter of being sure."

"I'm not trying to be rude here Tala, but you don't have all of Wolborg's powers. You may be efficient with a weapon, but you don't stand against the Savages she has. And from what we saw last night, you don't stand against her alone." Mariah said beside her brother, looking straight ahead across the table at him.

"We were staying with him." Spencer spoke up before Tala got the chance to do so, though the wolf wore a smirk than a frown at the pink haired woman's comment.

"Even if you two stay with him, you're still no match." Mariah sighed with a small shake of her head, "Her new Savages don't go down with a simple bullet between the eyes anymore, she's done something to them and then you have to deal with her."

"We can't leave Kai behind, if there's a chance to get him back from her than we have to take it. If that means there's a sacrifice along the way, then so be it." Bryan said from beside Spencer, looking unfazed by what had just come from his own mouth.

"It's a suicide mission, you all know that." Hilary sounded appalled, her face draining from it's color as she looked between the three Russians sitting across from her.

"He'd do it for us." Bryan shrugged.

Ray had yet to look away from Tala, though the red-head was purposefully ignoring from looking back at him. Very aware of Ray staring at him, though neither spoken up to the other as the others talked around them.

Finally Tala cleared his throat, shifting in his chair again. "There may be a way I can unlock all of Wolborg's powers." All eyes went to him, none of them having ever heard of such a thing.

"During the first worlds, before Tyson and I battled, Boris had done some modifications to me. They implanted a chip, in my brain, that cut off half of my power and access to Wolborg. I've been Fused with her for years, but they didn't want my powers slipping through during that battle because of the media coverage. Save the reveal for last, if you will. They were suppose to remove the chip after we won, though when I threw the match and BIOVOLT went down it was never done."

"Were you even able to harness her powers before they put the chip in you?" Max questioned.

Tala slowly nodded his head, "A bit out of control half the time, but for the most part I could. That was another reason they had put the chip in me, when they did their other modifications."

"What type of modifications are we talking about here?" Tyson blinked at him in confusion.

"They called him a cyborg, but the only cyborg thing about him is that chip in his head." Bryan snorted, "They just pumped him with some type of serum that modified his bones and sight."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ray asked in a quiet breath, his eyes still not leaving Tala's person.

"There's a lot about me I didn't want you to know, same with Kai and why he hid what he did to us." Tala answered, finally meeting Ray's eyes with his own. "It doesn't change who I am, it never really has."

Ray slowly nodded, though he didn't like to think about all that had happened to both him and Kai during their time in the Abbey. They had never really spoken about it; he had never really asked because he didn't want to have to bring up the past like that on them as he thought it unfair for him to do to them.

"How are you going to remove the chip then?" He finally asked after a small silence befell the table.

"I've been working on a program that will override it, make it useless." Bryan answered, gaining Ray's attention. "We won't have to do surgery or anything, but the program is still being tweaked and I'm not sure when it'll be ready."

Ray nodded some again, "Then it's better that you three come with us, until it can be done. There's no point in staying here, in the line of fire, while waiting for you to be able to do this without even knowing if it can be done properly."

Bryan's mouth opened to protest, Spencer cutting him off quickly. "He's right, there isn't a reason to stay here until we can get everyone else ready."

"Where is it you think she might have gone?" Lee asked, eyeing the three across from him.

"The Abbey." Tala answered coolly, sitting directly across from the lion.

"It's burnt down though, there's nothing left." Ray spoke up quickly.

"The underground wouldn't have been touched though." Tala said almost matter of factly, "The next best option, would be the Government building we were working in."

"Either way, it's still a suicide mission no matter where it's at." Mariah reiterated what Hilary had said earlier, the two sitting beside each other. "Not until we have the numbers to stand up to her and the Savages."

Tala went to speak, protest again, when Ray quickly put a hand down over the top of his. Bringing his attention back to him from Mariah.

"I understand, I want him back just as much, but I'm not wanting to risk losing you too. It's better we wait this out, gather our numbers, see if Bryan's program can work and then come back."

"We have eight years until Brooklyn's vision comes to pass, that should be enough time to try and stop it." Lee said, gaining a questioning look from Ray as he had briefly turned to him.

"He showed me, the day he vanished. I saw what's to come with my own eyes, just as you did, but I believe we can still stop it from happening." He explained.

"Did he tell you the same thing he told me, that the ending has been decided?" Ray questioned quickly, getting a slow nod from Lee as his answer. "Then how do you think we can stop it?!" Ray growled.

"Train Kain how to use his powers properly, keep everyone in the village past the eight or so years." Lee answered, "She won't be able to find us there, so the sooner we wrap this up and leave the better."

"But what about Kai?!" Tala yelled, "Are you suggesting we just leave him behind for good until then?"

"The more times we go in and out of the village, the easier it will be for her to pluck us all off one by one. Or worse, find it. Say you go back, fail, and then the next time it's the same process set on repeat. You risk yourself, the rest of us, and the world more. If we wait past the time that Brooklyn's vision showed us, then it's possible we can change it to where at least Kain isn't taken." Lee explained, though held a neutral tone against the yelling and narrowed eyes.

"How can you ask that of us?!" Tala yelled, slamming his free hand down on the top of his table. "And train Kain? You'll be doing the work for her!"

"Would you rather have him lose control? Become a Savage, if that's even possible."

"We don't even know if what she said is true." Ray jumped in between them.

"Then test him." Lee stated plainly, holding Ray's eyes with his challengingly.

Once more he was throwing his weight around, Ray finding himself stuck between agreeing with him to an extent and the other part wanting to smack him so hard across his face he'd break a tooth.

"We don't have a lab." Max spoke up, looking between the two neko-jins and then glancing at the mentioned eight month old sat in his high-chair chewing down on a toy as if the world wasn't going to shit around him.

"Make a mark on him, see if he heals." Bryan said, once more repeating his idea he had a few hours ago.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" Ray bared his fangs as his pupils slit and his head snapped to the other side of the table, "And what if he doesn't heal?!"

"Then we have our answer." Bryan answered without batting an eye, "It's our only way of knowing right here and now without a lab. Without wasting time, and making a better plan for what to do with him."

"What else would we do with him aside from taking him to the village?!" Ray kept on shouting.

"Train him, like Lee said."

"No." Ray and Tala both growled in unison, both their eyes hard on Bryan.

Mariah stood up from her chair, pushing back against the table and went over to Kain where he sat. Ray jumped up in a flash of green and shoved her back away from him, a crack of thunder sounding outside that shook the house.

"I said NO!" His voiced boomed like the thunder, "Stay the hell away from him if you're just going to hurt him."

"Ray, please. We need to know, it's no different than if Kenny were drawing blood." Mariah spoke calmly.

"I don't care! I said no." Ray argued.

"Max." Lee called as he slowly stood up from where he now sat pinned between Ray and Mariah.

Max took a step forward, though wasn't exactly sure how to do this without hurting Ray and the unborn child he carried. Tyson stood with him as back up, though had the same qualms running through him on how to do this without harming Ray, while Tala smoothly stood from his chair and approached Ray cautiously.

"It's just one little prick, no different than when we've taken him to get his shots." He spoke calmly, almost soothingly as he placed a hand on Ray's shoulder.

Ray's head snapped to him, a feral hiss escaping him as a small thin bolt of green lightning sparked along his shoulder, zapping Tala's hand and forcing him to withdraw it quickly.

"Stop it." Mariah pleaded, her eyes wide like the others in the room staring almost in shock and horror at the small lightning bolt no bigger than a string of yawn dancing along Ray's shoulder as if it were alive.

"Think of the baby, think of Kain and Kai. We need to do this."

Ray bit into his lower lip, hardly registering the lightning that had sparked along his shoulder or the cracks of thunder roaring outside his own home at the moment. There was a part of him that knew he was being difficult, that he had wanted Kenny to find out the night before though after everything that happened he didn't want it to be cemented. Didn't want Kain to have those powers that he felt he knew Kain already had, because there wasn't a way in his head where he could protect him now.

"It'll be alright." Tala cooed once more, seeing the look on Ray's face as he was battling internally with himself over this. Already knowing why Ray was acting so defensive about it all, sharing his own fears but agreed with the others that it was better to know for sure.

Ray's shoulders fell, the lighting that had been dancing along them sparking out, feeling defeated all over again and slowly nodded as he hung his head, his bangs falling in his face as he moved out of their way. Coming to stand in Tala's embrace, Mariah and Lee going forward to pick Kain out of the highchair who still had the innocence in his eyes as he was plucked out.

"Just something small, but big enough it needs to be able to close on it's own." Mariah explained as Lee shifted the babe on his hip for her while she extracted her claws.

Ray gripped tighter to Tala as he watched, his heart thudding in his chest harder and faster. Tala gripping him around the shoulders just the same, keeping him against his body so he wouldn't try to get away again. His own heart beating faster, wanting to look away but at the same time felt compelled to watch just to see if the theory was right.

In all of Kain's eight months of life, his skin was flawless, no nicks or bruises because he wasn't accident prone and was always watched like a hawk. He wasn't walking yet, had just started pulling himself up onto things the past month or two, before that there wasn't a way for him to get hurt where they would have seen a healing factor in him. The night before, when they had checked him over after Anette had the potential to burn him, they had found nothing though had chalked it up to that she hadn't burned him in her hold and he had only been crying because he was scared.

Holding Kain's right hand in hers, Mariah kept her grip lax and gentle before carefully bringing her clawed index finger towards his pale skin on the chubby arm just below the crease of his elbow. There was a small whimper at first, before a full blown cry that made everyone's hearts sink into the pits of their stomachs and tears to spring in both Ray and Tala's eyes.

"I'm so sorry honey." She cooed gently and withdrew her finger; the claw mark having been made quickly though not painlessly.

Both her and Lee watched, Lee struggling to hold the writhing and screaming babe against his hip tighter so he wouldn't drop him, as Mariah kept hold of the hand in hers outstretched as Kain tried to pull it back from her. A small gasp leaving both their mouths as the scratch slowly began to heal itself over until it looked as though she hadn't harmed him at all. The little bit of blood that had seeped out was the only indicator that there had even been a mark against him, not even a trace of a scar left behind.

"He heals." Lee stated in that same astonished tone.

"Give him to me." Ray jerked out from Tala's hold, snatching his son from Lee's into his own and quickly wrapped his arms around him where Kain cried into his shoulder.

"How did she know?" Tyson asked, swallowing around the lump in his throat at what had just happened to his nephew.

"It's very possible that when Ray was pregnant, that when they did tests on him and took blood samples, she was able to take what they collected and looked for it." Max concluded after a moment of silence, looking to be in thought over it some more.

"He had most of his testing done at the BBA, a lot of it we kept because we needed to monitor him carefully because of the miscarriage previously. We never thought of looking at Kain while he was in the womb, but it's possible she knew of a way to look for it that we didn't think of."

"She's covered all her bases." Bryan said with a slight smirk, "Given what we know about her, where she comes from, I'm not that surprised."

"You're not helping." Tala sighed with an eye roll after having helped Ray calm down not only himself but Kain as well.

Bryan shrugged his shoulders, "Now that we know Kain has at least Dranzer's powers, our next step is to get him and the rest of us out of here."

"I need to contact Judy, get something out here so we can." Ray explained, his hand still rubbing the small of Kain's back to keep him calm through the last bit of his shuddered breathing.

"I'll call her, everyone should start packing." Max offered.

"A helicopter would be best, no airports, she'll be expecting that." Tala said, getting a nod from Max as he was starting to turn to walk out of the dining room. "Spencer can give you some coordinates on where it'd be best to do the pickup."

At that Spencer rose from his chair, following Max out and up the stairs to Tala's room where he had stayed the night and left his cellphone.

"How long should it take before we'll have something?" Hilary questioned.

"No more than two hours." Ray answered, moving himself around the others in his way without looking at them. "So I suggest we get ready now."

"It's a good thing we don't have much." Tyson lightly joked, though sunk into himself slightly as Ray's heated gaze snapped to him as he walked by.

"Just give him some time, he's not the best to deal with when pregnant." Tala sighed again while running a hand down his tired face.

"We know." The others in the room chimed in together.

Tala smirked a little, figuring it was best to do as Ray had commanded and go upstairs to get ready to leave everything behind. Weaving himself through the small crowd he trailed off after him, though took his time in going. Taking in everything with his eyes, every step he took was like taking a hot knife to the chest as his eyes danced around at everything he knew for the past five years of his life.

Everything he and Kai had built up on their own surrounding him, trying to find some comfort in the idea of leaving not just it behind but Kai as well. Lee was right, there wasn't a way to stay behind or come and go until the eight years was up just to avoid Brooklyn's vision. It took Kain out of the equation though left Kai in it, yet there wasn't a way he could think of to avoid it completely.

As his feet finally brought him up back to Kai's room, like he had done with the rest of the house, he took it all in slowly. Even the dark gray walls that made the room feel more like a dungeon than a bedroom, remembering the argument that had spawned between them after Kai had bought the house. Smirking at the memory, finding himself touching the wall gingerly as he stared at it as if he was lost all of a sudden.

There wasn't much to really look at in the room itself, Kai never hung any pictures up or left his room in any state but perfectly cleaned. Though since he hadn't been the one to lay in the bed the night before the sheets were still untucked from when Ray and Tala had woken up.

Tala's feet gathered a mind of their own, leading him towards the bed and fixing it up like Kai would have had it as if he had been there all along. Even his sheets to the bed were black and gray, tying in with the dark furniture in there, making it as though Tala were standing in a literal black cloud at the moment. With the pillows put back in place, his back to the opened door of the room, he stood back and just stared at the bed again with that same lost look in his eyes he had before.

"Tal?" Ray's voice brought him out of his dazed staring, jumping slightly and looked over his shoulder at Ray standing in the doorway behind him.

"Hey Kit." Tala smiled a little, though it wasn't as strong as either were hoping for.

Ray held out the photo in his hand as he stepped up to him, a small rectangular frame that held a 4x6 picture of Tala and Kai with their arms wrapped around each other while facing one another, and the biggest smile on Tala's face while Kai wore a more simpler smile. The love that could be seen in his eyes was enough though to tell he was happy, truly happy at that moment.

Tala welled up, choking on a sob that came out with the small laugh from within his throat as he carefully took the picture from Ray's hand.

"His birthday last year." Tala said, though knowing he didn't need to, his thumb gently rubbing over the glass and Kai in the picture.

Ray nodded, having been the one to take the photo of the two of them and kept it on his bedside table since. Holding two other pictures at his side, handing the next one out to Tala to look at.

Tala took the next picture offered to him. The second one being of the three of them standing side by side in their backyard, covered in blue powder from head to toe. Tala once more wearing the biggest and most brightest smile ever while jumping in the air, Ray holding his six month pregnant belly in laughter, and Kai smirking around the blue that covered his face.

"He was really relieved it was a boy, even if he didn't know it was his at the time." Tala smirked, shaking his head some before taking the next picture Ray held out to him.

The last one was just of Kai, sat up and asleep in a green faux leather chair with a small bundle in his arms that he held close to his chest. His head dropped where his bangs fell over his eyes, his legs out in front of him and crossed at the ankle, though his shoulders were tense and the hold he had around the swaddled baby in his arms looked unwavering even in the picture.

"And he was really happy Kain was his, even if he didn't show it at first." Tala said fondly, having been the one to take the photo himself the night Kain had been born, his smirk not leaving his features as Ray again nodded at the statement.

"I have others, I just wasn't sure which all to take and what to leave but I wanted ones of our family. I want to be able to show Kain as he gets older…" Ray stopped, trying to take in a breath before he shook himself out of it. They kept talking as if Kai was already gone and he hated it, hated himself for not being able to save him the most out of everything.

"I have some saved to my phone, we don't have to worry about packing them all." Tala said as he finally let his hand fall to his side, keeping the photos in his grip.

"I do to, but I wanted these ones to keep up." Ray explained, briefly looking around Kai's room.

Out of the three of them, he didn't have anything hanging up on his walls. The only pictures he did have sat on his bed side tables, four small frames, two on each table, with just a shot of Tala in one and then one of him and Tala. The other table held a photo just Ray and then one of him, Ray and Kain when they brought him home from the hospital.

"I'm gonna finish packing, do you need any help?" Ray asked, dragging his eyes back to look at the man he still had standing in front of him. Wishing with everything he had he could take away the pain he could see lingering in Tala's eyes, that he could have fixed this mess before it got out of his control.

Tala shook his head, handing back the photos Ray had brought to him. "I'll be alright." There was a double meaning to his words, though one of them was a lie that Ray could see clear as day. Of course it was a lie, neither of them were alright. How could they be?

Ignoring the outstretched hand, Ray bridged the small gap between them, walking between Tala's arms into his chest where he leant up and kissed him. Pressing in hard, savoring the touch and the moment, Tala pressing back just as hard but behind it there was a passion to it. Though unable to put his arms around him like he wanted to at the moment, or touch him without dropping the pictures in his hold so he didn't break them.

The pull away was slow, as if they didn't want to or need the ability to breathe again, and when their eyes fluttered back open they found themselves more lost just staring at one another.

"I don't want to leave…" Tala breathed out once the silence became too overwhelming, his icy-blue eyes filming over with tears. "I can't leave him Kit… How can we leave him like this?"

Ray reached up, gently cupping Tala's face in his hands as he kept his eyes on his. Fighting back his own tears, digging deep to stay strong for not only Tala but for himself and their children.

"We'll get him back." He said more strongly than he thought was possible at the moment, "I promise, we're not leaving him forever. We're going to get him back and bring him home."

"I'm sorry." Tala apologized, though the flow of tears still poured down his cheeks.

"Don't… This isn't your fault. It's not your fault. We weren't prepared, we didn't know. Please don't apologize for anything. We're going to get him back, I swear." Ray begged, the guilt washing over him once more. Tala had nothing to be sorry for, this fell on his shoulders and his alone.

Tala barely nodded, though he wasn't even sure what he was nodding for at the moment to start with. His mouth moved to speak when their ears perked at footsteps approaching the room, the two pulling away from each other, Tala wiping at his face as Ray turned to face the doorway where Spencer stood just on the other side of the door.

"We have forty-five minutes to reach the pick up destination." He informed.

"Alright, thank you Spence." Tala said, squaring his shoulders some to try and play off that he hadn't been thrown into a crying fit a second ago. "Make sure everyone's ready in ten and we'll leave."

Spencer gave a curt nod before walking away, leaving the two once more alone. Ray breathing out a sigh as he could hear Spencer downstairs with the others, relaying their orders and the others starting for the stairs.

"Better hurry up before the Grangers take over my room again." Tala muttered as he stepped around Ray, pausing beside him and placing the pictures back into his hands. "Don't forget these." He said, letting his hands slip away and leaving Ray left alone in Kai's room.

Ray held in a breath as he walked across the large room to the dresser on the opposite side of the door, opening the top drawer and rummaging through it till he found the shirt he was looking for in the neatly folded piles. His fingers hitting something small and hard at the bottom, catching his curiosity at the soft almost velvety feel and plucked out two small square boxes from under the clothes.

Another punch like feeling hit him in the chest and stomach simultaneously, setting one box down on the top of the dresser in order to open the other with the pictures. His fingers and hands trembling slightly as he peeled back the top of the black velvety box, inside nestled in the white padding was a silver band. A single diamond in the center of it, on the left side of the diamond was an engraved K while on the right of the diamond was an engraved T.

Ray's heart slammed into his chest, quickly shutting the small box closed and switching it out for the one he had placed on the top of the dresser. Opening it with still shaking fingers, revealing a similar band though this one was made of gold. The second engraving on the right side of the diamond an R instead of a T, and with looking at it the tears rolled down his tanned cheeks again even after he slammed the small box closed.

Wrapping the two boxes and pictures in the shirt he had taken, he closed the drawer and went back to his own room to put everything in his suitcase, not bothering to wipe the tears away as he went.


	18. Chapter 18

**Welcome back guys! I have been dying to get this chapter out to you all, hot off the press too and boy do my eyes hurt. Anyways, because this is just being posted after being written ignore the mistakes you may come across, too tired to care.  
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**Lemon warning, blood, violence, all that good stuff. Ya'll have made it this far with all of that already, should be used to it by now.**

**This is another long one, hadn't planned it that way but didn't I actually quite like it this way. Hope you all do too.**

**Thank you, as always, to everyone who comes and reads and reviews, it really means a lot to me.  
**

**Enjoy!**

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**19 Months Ago, August 1****st****:**

_"C'mon Kai, just smile a little." Ray seemed to plead with him as he stood less than a foot away from him and Tala. _

_ Currently, and failing, he was trying to snap a picture of the two that seemed to be out in their own little world for the moment. Once more slightly being reminded of how he was the third-wheel here despite it already being a year and eight months since he had jumped in head first into this entire thing. _

_ There was always the option to turn and leave, ignore what his heart was telling him to do, yet he stayed right where he was. Already his life had been flipped so far around he didn't want to lose more of what he considered to be his new normal now. _

_ It was coming close to a year now that he had been acting as Director of the BBA, Dickenson had been murdered in his office back in June the year before and the formula that spurned the Fusion Process had been taken with it. At the time he was still coming out of his training with Brooklyn, having already uprooted his life to come and live with the other two, and come July he had a miscarriage while finishing up the training he needed. _

_ He was no longer hindered by wearing sunglasses wherever he went, his eyes had finally readjusted to the lights around him and although he could see everything clearer he had yet been able to find the one who had killed Dickenson and stole the formula from under them._

_ He had rejected the idea of taking over as Director, though the others pushed until he caved and took it up with the already crippling guilt he still felt on his shoulders for taking away Tala's happiness like he had. Now he was in charge of more lives than he could count, not just those he worked with but those of the entire world now. A year had passed since he started the Fusion process and they were no closer away from the vision Brooklyn had shown him back at Dickenson's party, and already everything that could go wrong was starting to pile up. _

_ For now he had this, just even if it was for a short amount of time, he had told himself to put work and everything else in the back of his mind to really enjoy the day out. It was, after all, Kai's twenty-second birthday and if not for himself than for Kai he would put on a braver front and a smile. _

_ The three of them had gone out, it seemed forever since it had just been the three of them like this after everything that had started to spiral out of control, the three of them needing it something fierce they took the day to just relax. _

_ Between the other two they had their own worries stuffed and hidden away, feeling it would be for the better that they kept Ray at a safe distance from all they had agreed to around this time last year. _

_ They had been approached by the government, a woman neither had ever seen before coming to them at Kai's enterprise with a proposition. One that had their heads spinning for a good half hour until they realized she wasn't bluffing, that despite everything they had tried to do to build up as normal as a life as they could, it was all for not and being thrown back in their faces. Their friends now turned enemies, though weren't given a rhyme or reason as to why Dickenson had picked up the Fusion Project after all he had done to destroy it from Boris after the Abbey was closed. _

_ What had happened to them when they were just children was brought to the forefront like a bad dream, the woman knew only because the secrets from the Abbey weren't so secret when it came to what the government knew. Without much thought or debate, they had agreed when they were shown the pictures of what was happening and once more they put on their soldier uniforms and were now at the back and call of the government when whistled for; no better than if they were dogs._

_ The only thing different was this time they really had each other and now they had Ray, even if he didn't know. It was for the better that they kept him in the dark, that was what they had agreed upon and stood by. Just like the third member of their home, they too needed this day. For once just to try and bring back what they had been trying to fight so hard for, not wanting to have it all slip through their fingers like everything else. _

_ Although the two knew Ray had really come for Kai, it was clear after a few dates here and there just between Ray and Tala that they were starting to form a bond and love between the two of them that was equal to the love Kai held for the both of them. Then came the prospect of Tala being a father, amplifying the love he and Tala had formed in such a short amount of time only for that to slip through their fingers without warning. _

_ It had blown a hole through the three of them, not just the two who were affected by it more, and it had taken months for Ray to finally come out of it all as the other two could only give him his space. During the recovery period Tala had clung to Kai more than normal and he was there to support the both of them, and while trying to juggle the new mess of his home life he was trying to juggle the mess that Dickenson had created. _

_ Today, he pushed it all down, focused on the two loves of his life as best as he could because he could see that they all needed it. _

_ It didn't matter what they did, he could have cared less as long as he had them with him, and making the most of the time he had they had gone out to the movies, had some drinks and lunch and were currently wandering through a park. _

_ Amidst the wandering he hadn't even realized Ray had fallen back from the two of them, at Ray's comment he smirked and pulled Tala close to face him where their chests were pressed against each other. Once more finding themselves lost in their own world as they stared at one another. _

_ "He's right, you should smile more." Tala joked, hearing the shutter of Ray's camera on his phone clicking as he slipped his arms around Kai's neck. _

_ Kai rolled his eyes playfully, the faintest smile coming to his lips as Tala's seemed to take over the width of his mouth and with a few more quick clicks Ray had the picture he had been wanting to take since they found themselves out in the park. _

_ "There, that wasn't so hard was it?" Tala chuckled quietly, pecking Kai on the lips as Ray approached the two to show them the pictures. _

_ "I really like that." Tala mused as Ray handed him the phone, looking down at the photo with a smile and stepped back. _

_ "Okay, you two now." He ordered with a more wolfish-grin than his smile, holding up Ray's phone to snap the picture. _

_ Ray chuckled quietly, stepping up to where Tala had been previously and put his arms around Kai's back as Kai's hands came to settle over his hips. Kai leaned in, though Ray tilted his head down to where Kai's lips pressed against his forehead instead of his lips like he had been aiming for. _

_ Tala hit the button, getting a few shots in rapid succession of the two and smiled lovingly down at the pictures he had taken while unaware of the small smile Kai had been wearing fell. _

_ "What's wrong?" Kai whispered quietly against Ray's forehead, hoping Tala was too busy gushing over the photos to be paying attention. _

_ "Nothing, I'm fine." Ray whispered back, smiling a little as he pulled Kai closer into a hug. "Don't worry, I'm alright." He breathed into his shoulder before pulling away quickly, Tala bouncing up to the two of them now to show him the picture. _

_ Kai just blinked a little, knowing there was a lie in there somewhere but just wasn't sure exactly what it was that Ray would be lying about. _

_ "What else should we do?" Tala asked as Ray was busy looking at the photo, trying to ignore Kai staring at the side of his head as if he was trying to read his mind. _

_ "Could get some dinner, it's getting late." Ray suggested as he pocketed his phone, the second he did it chimed with a text message. _

_ "One second." He stepped away, pulling out his phone again and breathed a sigh of relief that he had gotten it back from Tala when he had as Brooklyn's number appeared up on his screen. _

_ 'Need you back. Sorry.' _

_ Ray let out another sigh, shaking his head. He didn't want to leave, but he had a job to do and people to look after and protect. _

_ "I'm sorry, I have to go." He said as he turned back to the other two he had stepped away from, the guilt on his face for having to run and ditch them when he had promised himself he wouldn't worry about work. _

_ "Everything okay?" Tala arched a questioning brow. _

_ "Yeah, they're short staffed tonight so I have to head in. I'll see you two tonight." He lied again, stuffing his phone into his back pocket. _

_ "Do you want us to drop you off?" Kai asked as Ray was already backing away from them to leave. _

_ "No, I'll catch a cab. Happy birthday Kai." He waved with a small smile, turning back around quickly so he didn't keep stalling as he followed the paved path of the park in the direction they had just come from. _

_ "Be careful!" Tala called out to him, though Ray kept walking away until he was out of sight. "Well this sucks." He pouted. _

_ Kai shrugged, though he agreed. "Could still get dinner, he was right. It's getting late." _

_ Tala huffed again but nodded, "Whatever you want, old man." He winked at him, not about to let the mood drop just because Ray had to leave them. _

_ Kai rolled his eyes though smiled at the joke, "You're a year older than I am, in case you forgot." _

_ Tala grinned, taking up Kai's hand. "It got you to smile, finally." He commented, taking them further down the path in the direction they had been heading._

_ "Just a shame we can't have a Hiwatari sandwich tonight, I had it all planned in my head too." He continued on as he led them through the park, even without the one they could still enjoy their time together and Tala still planned on making the most of it._

* * *

_**September 20**__**th**__**:**_

_Ray quietly slipped through the front doors of Kai's home, trying to be quiet in fear of alerting one of the others. Somehow Tala always knew when someone was at the door before they had even knocked or rung the doorbell, like a dog, and he breathed out a heavy sigh as he couldn't hear or smell Tala in the house. _

_ It was late, later than he had hoped to be back home but after a meeting having run well past the allotted time with Judy in America and then having to call Kane in Japan to relay all that had been discussed, it wasn't a surprise and he was exhausted. _

_ All week there had been nothing but fights, more Savages that kept coming from seemingly nowhere with little actual progress in getting closer to Dickenson's killer but that much more closer to Brooklyn's vision. He was nearing his rope with all of it, even if he had been out in the field alongside his men and women on top of being the Director, it didn't matter. None of it did because he wasn't a seeing a way out of any of this at the moment. _

_ Quietly he closed the door behind him, toeing his shoes off before stepping further in the house when finally he was hit with the familiar smell of smoke in the home. His nose curled slightly at the smell, hating that Kai smoked inside the house as it overpowered everything else but it was his home, his rules, and Ray didn't have any room to protest it. _

_ Then came the fear that followed, Kai was home and more importantly awake in the kitchen. More than likely he was up waiting for him, but then that left the question as to where Tala was at currently if he wasn't home. _

_ As if he were a teenager sneaking back into the house after curfew, he dragged his aching feet through the foyer and into the kitchen where he slowly met Kai's eyes from where he was sat at the head of the table. _

_ For a while, between just the two of them, there had been something that had sprung up between them. Ray wasn't sure what it was, what had happened so suddenly but it was getting harder to ignore as the months had passed. Part of him didn't dwell on it too long because he couldn't afford the time to, the other part of him was left to wonder if somehow Kai knew the truth but would always toss that thought out. There wasn't a way for Kai to know about him, what he had done and what he actually did. _

_ As far as he could think back on it, when that wall had been built up between him, he could only pinpoint it to when he had announced he was pregnant the past April and that Tala had more potential of being the father, but that had been months, almost a year ago now, but he had felt that wall there just as he did now. _

_ "What're you doing up so late?" Ray questioned, unable to shake off the feeling from Kai's stare alone. _

_ "Waiting on you." Kai answered, pulling the glass ashtray closer to him and snubbed out the already burnt out cigarette in the pile of others he had been smoking on for the past several hours while he waited. _

_ Every call he made went to voicemail, the hours kept ticking well past after when Ray was supposed to come home from work, and he couldn't find it in himself to go to sleep without knowing if he was safe. _

_ "Where were you?" Kai questioned without looking at him, his focus on putting out the cigarette and knowing Ray was squirming where he stood. _

_ "Late night, then I went and grabbed some drinks with some friends." Ray answered, stepping further into the kitchen to grab himself a glass of water. _

_ "Where's Tala?" He questioned, just to divert the topic from himself. _

_ He didn't want to have to do this, yet he was, because he was trying to protect them. He hated lying to them but had been doing it the past year and a half so much it was becoming second nature to him and he hated it. _

_ The past two months was nothing but lies, constantly, since he had to ditch Kai on his birthday. Every night, so far, he had been lucky enough to avoid this. Then the nights were getting longer, the time away from home was getting to the point he wondered why he even bothered coming back at all when he practically lived at the BBA now. _

_ Kai's eyes finally lifted, taking him in across the room where he stood behind the counters at the sink. For a moment, Ray could see that Kai was fighting with something, but yet he wasn't even sure what it was. _

_ It could have been them as a whole, maybe something else, he wasn't sure. After the years on a team with him he had been able to read him until they were apart for two years, and it was like he had to learn him all over again. It was just as equally as frustrating as everything else currently going on in his life, he wasn't ready to play games with him tonight either. _

_ "Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?" Ray bit out. _

_ Kai arched a brow at the outburst, he hadn't even said anything but could tell whatever Ray had going on in his own head was weighing him down. _

_ Ray bit his lower lip; he hated the silence more now than he normally found it peaceful when around him. Then again, that was before the wall was built up for no reason. _

_ "I just asked you a simple question." _

_ "And I answered it, didn't I? But I can tell there's something else, so just spit it out already." Ray argued, slamming his glass down on the counter. Gripping at the edges as he leaned against it, feeling as though he might collapse if he didn't have something to support his weight. _

_ "There was an attack today." Kai started in a quiet tone, "Thirty people were killed." _

_ Ray's back tensed as his mouth went dry, though he knew. He had been there. But, the government once more played it off as a terrorist attack and nothing more. Keeping their secret hidden from the public's eye, it was their mess and yet Ray was there trying to clean it up best he could. The only good thing was that the Lap Dogs hadn't been there to get in his way, able to walk away from the night with his men in tact for once. _

_ "Where?" Ray questioned, finding his voice somehow. "And where is Tala?" He asked in more of a panic. _

_ "He's just at the enterprise, had some late paper work to get finished. Said I should stay home and wait for you, make sure you made it back because we didn't know where you were." _

_ The muscles in Ray's shoulders relaxed, breathing out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare the two of you. I should have called when I got out, I just lost track of time." _

_ "It's fine, we just want you to be safe." Kai said in that same quiet tone he held, the fear he had been harboring since well past Ray's time to get out of work washing away now that he was there. _

_ "Then what else is wrong? It can't just be this, you've been acting different towards me for months now. I know I'm not around a lot, things are busy with work and school, but I don't think that's the issue. Is it?" _

_ Kai seemed to shrink in his chair, grabbing the empty cigarette carton and played with it a little between his hands as he moved his attention to it instead of Ray. _

_ There was a lot wrong, not just between the two of them but with the world. Tala had started pushing that they tell him, come clean after almost a year of hiding it and even longer the more Kai thought about it, but he couldn't. There wasn't a way for Ray to understand what had been done to him before they even met. He couldn't chance the risk of losing him when he just got him. _

_ Then why had he been so intent on building up that wall between them recently? He wasn't even sure himself why things had changed, it had only been a year and a half since Ray had given up everything he knew to come live with them, things had been going good even with the complications that came from a three-man relationship. Somehow they had made it work, they all loved one another and it was evident, but that still didn't stop the jealousy that sometimes seeped in between them. _

_ He hadn't pictured himself to be a jealous man, not when he knew the consequences of having two lovers, but that's exactly how it felt when the prospect of Ray and Tala were fixing to be parents. Though, when it came down to it and the pregnancy ended, he wasn't relieved. He was cut just as deep as the other two had been, had been Tala's shoulder to cry on and it was Ray who had taken those last few bricks and closed the two of them off from him for a while. _

_ That didn't help the now though, not after the effort Ray had been putting into actually coming back for the two of them after it had happened. Yet Kai still felt that wall there and he wasn't even sure why, and worse, he didn't know how to bring it down either. _

_ With the silence, knowing Ray was waiting for an answer that he just couldn't give he sat the carton back down and pushed himself away from the table without a word. _

_ "Kai… Just talk to me." Ray pleaded as Kai started leaving the kitchen, unable to grab him any with the counter space separating them as Kai passed by. _

_ "You should get some rest, you look tired." Kai said over his shoulder as he reached just under the archway that led into the foyer._

_ "Stop shutting me out!" Ray yelled at him, his fingers gripping the counter harder as he felt tears prick his eyes. "After everything I've given up to come here, after all we've been through before as a team and as friends you shouldn't shut me out like this anymore!" _

_ Kai paused before his foot crossed the tile into the foyer, drawing it back and stood stiffly. _

_ "I love you, but you keep pushing me away and I don't know why!" Ray cried out, shaking his head as his chin rested against his chest as he tore his eyes away from Kai's back. _

_ "It's not anything you did…" _

_ "Well it sure fucking feels like it, Kai!" Ray continued to yell back, "I know that when I pushed you and Tala away it hurt, I didn't mean to hurt the two of you when I did that but it's been months! A full year since then. So that can't be it, so what __**is**__ it?!" _

_ "It's not you Ray!" Kai shouted back as he spun around on his heels, "It's not you, it's me!" _

_ Ray pulled his head up, looking over to his left where Kai stood and swallowed the lump in his throat as Kai approached him with a fire in his eyes that he never liked seeing in them. _

_ "I pushed you away before you pushed me away, that's on me, but I don't know how to fix it!" He stopped just at the corner of the island that kept him and Ray separated. _

_ "You were hurting, that's understandable, but I don't know why __**I**__ was at the time before it even happened!"_

_ Ray blinked, a few of his tears slipping down his cheeks, as he stared at him almost wordlessly. Though refused to let the damn silence come back between them. _

_ "Were you even happy for us?" He felt himself asking almost in a pained breath. _

_ "I don't know…" Kai answered as his head went down to stare at his own feet, "I thought I was, for a while I believe I was. Then something changed the further along you got and it was as if it hit me, that there was going to be a child under the same roof as me… And… It scared me…" _

_ Ray pushed himself away from the counter, cautiously stepping up to him and put a hand on his cheek where he tilted Kai's head back up to look at him. _

_ "Why didn't you just talk to us?" _

_ "I don't know… I didn't want you two to think that I wasn't happy for you, I was, I just… It would have changed a lot, and I don't think I'd be a good role model or father figure." Kai said, his voice lowering again as he shrugged his shoulders that suddenly felt heavier than they actually were. _

_ "You'd make an amazing father." Ray said softly, rubbing the pad of his thumb along Kai's cheek where his blue war paint used to sit in their youth. _

_ "I don't think I can." Kai choked back, "Not after the bullshit I've been put through." _

_ "And Tala went through the same thing, didn't he?" He got a quiet nod in return, "And he'd make a wonderful father, wouldn't he?" He got another nod back. "Then why wouldn't you?" He asked just as softly as before, this time getting a small shake of the head as his response._

_ Ray sighed, refraining from rolling his eyes at him. "It doesn't matter though, since it didn't happen." _

_ Kai's eyes shot up quickly, "It wasn't your fault." He spat out. "I would have been fine; I had made my peace with it. I never wished for it to have ended the way it had for either of you." _

_ Ray felt himself welling up again, even months later it still hurt because it was his fault. "It's okay, I know you didn't." _

_ He slipped his hand back down to his side, "You're right, it's late. We should get some sleep." With that he stepped around Kai, this time taking the lead in going towards the stairs without looking back at him. _

_ To Kai this didn't feel any better, even after talking to him about it and being open it seemed as though that wall had just been more reinforced than what it had been before. As much as he wanted to give Ray his space, he didn't feel right leaving it this way and took off after him. _

_ Ray had barely made it to the stairs when Kai rushed up behind him, taking up his hand and tugging Ray into his chest quickly as his arms wrapped around him tightly as if he didn't somehow keep him there Ray would bolt away. _

_ "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Kai repeated, holding onto him tighter with each apology. _

_ Ray at first was frozen and taken back by the unexpected hold around him, though found himself leaning more into Kai's chest and put his arms around him back. _

_ "There's nothing for you to be sorry for." Ray said, burying his face in Kai's chest. It had been too long since they had this, just them for a moment, once more finding that they both needed it as they felt the wall crumbling down around them. _

_ "I love you too." Kai breathed into Ray's hair. _

_ Ray smiled as he pulled away just enough he could lean up and press his lips into Kai's, it was a soft gentle touch at first before Kai pressed back in harder. The two of them gripping at one another tighter as if trying to absorb the other, their chests so close together there wasn't room for anything else between them. Feeling the other breathe with each slow rise and fall, melting against one another as they got lost in the familiar feeling of each other. _

_ Ray's mouth parted slowly, letting Kai's tongue slip in gently and shivered as a moan wracked through his body and his fingers curled into the back of Kai's shirt tighter for a moment until Kai forced them apart without warning. Again, without warning, Kai's arms slid down Ray's back to his hips where he picked Ray up into his arms, making sure to hold his thighs securely around him. _

_ Ray didn't protest as he was carried up the stairs, but by the time they reached Kai's room and he was dropped almost carelessly on top of the mattress he could tell Kai had strained himself in getting the two of them up the stairs the way he had. _

_ Before Ray could question if he was alright, Kai was already crawling over the top of him again and pressing their lips back together almost hungrily. His fingers splaying through Ray's hair, feeling the body under his relaxing into the bed as Ray's mouth opened again. When Kai went to delve in there Ray's tongue slipped past his instead, taking over in the kiss as he slowly rocked his hips against Kai's. _

_ With a muffled groan coming out of his chest, Kai pushed back against him roughly, the two of them already straining through their pants and feeling the other set fire to their skin as the temperature in the room heated up with them._

_ Their clothes were ripped off one another without time to blink, the moment Kai had come back to the bed and crawled his way over Ray's body with butterfly kisses up along his tanned stomach and to his quickly rising and falling chest, Ray had grabbed him around the shoulders and threw him down against the bed on his back and effectively pinning him down. _

_ Without a word, or tearing their eyes away from the other, Ray snatched the lubricant Kai had brought back to the bed and coated two of his fingers as he shifted between Kai's legs that were already turning red from the love bites he had left during their stripping. _

_ Parting them enough he could settle between them better, he gently teased Kai's entrance with his coated fingers until he could see Kai relaxing and slipped the two in at once. Kai's head went back, biting down into his bottom lip with a hiss and a moan. At either side of him he gripped the sheets as Ray started to gently prod inside him, working him to the point he could already feel himself sweating and his body getting weaker. _

_ As Ray's fingers found his prostate, the thrusting more quick and shallow, he was a writhing mess under him without restraining any of the noises as they poured out of him until it all stopped. _

_ Panting hard he tried to collect the air back into his lungs, though Ray was quick enough to snatch it from him as he crashed their lips together, his fang scraping his lower lip though it just added to it all without realizing Ray had hooked his legs over his shoulders as he positioned himself. _

_ "Ready?" Ray licked at the little bit of blood that had seeped out from Kai's lip, though without focusing on it he hadn't noticed that the skin had already healed as his focus had been on Kai's eyes. _

_ "Yeah." Kai panted, still winded from earlier. _

_ Ray smirked, his fang slipping back out as he eased himself inside of him. Taking it slow, savoring the moment because he wasn't sure when they'd get a chance like this again between just the two of them. It was rare that it was just them, Tala was always somewhere in the middle or it was just him and Tala more often the past few months including the night before in his room without Kai. _

_ Kai seemed to hold his breath again as he felt Ray filling him, his grip on the sheets tightening as the rest of him relaxed and he forced himself to calm the heat on his skin from seeping out in the moment; he didn't want to burn him or have him asking questions again. _

_ As Ray worked his hips in gentle thrusts, he kissed him again in that same gentle touch they had started with back downstairs. Kai's arms coming around his neck finally, his fingers through his hair again where he had let it out earlier from it's wrappings. A purr mixed with a moan slipped out of Ray, working his hips harder into him as he let Kai's tongue in this time. _

_ They pulled apart, Ray shifting back onto his knees while holding Kai's legs over his shoulders as he drove into him harder. Once more Kai was nothing but a writhing, panting, moaning mess under him and he loved every bit of it. His own moans joining in as there came the familiar twist in his stomach as he was edging that much closer at just the sight and sounds mixed in with the feeling of being buried inside Kai's body. Yet, there was no way Kai was near enough as close as he was. _

_ With a few more harder thrusts his release crashed into him, leaving him even more tired and spent after a long day as his body slumped against Kai's chest. Heaving in just as heavily as the man below him, trying to get a hold of himself as his head was nothing but wonderful static bliss. _

_ Kai kissed the side of his head where it had landed beside his own, running his hands up and down his back gently. Letting Ray's high come down and slip out of him before he made his move. _

_ Searching out the lube that got tucked under his side and between the bed, Kai shifted just enough to coat himself after popping the cap with his thumb, Ray still too gone in the aftereffects that he hadn't really been paying attention, until he was placed over Kai's waist and the head of him was pressing into his entrance._

_ "Kai…" Ray panted in an attempt to stop him until he figured it was unfair, but then again Kai hadn't grabbed any protection even though he kept telling him he needed to if he didn't want kids. _

_ It was too late by the time he opened his mouth again to speak, Kai sinking his cock up into his body that the only thing that came out of him was a strangled moan as his head went back some. _

_ He didn't have to do anything, the exhaustion from the day being one part of him unable to do anything but lay there against Kai's body as he thrusted into him faster than what Ray had been doing to him just moments ago. More strangled cries and moans being released right by Kai's ear, fueling him to keep going as his fingers dug into Ray's hips as he pulled him down to meet him each time. _

_ What seemed like forever that his already weak and tired body had been getting the beating of a lifetime, the fog in his head only getting heavier and his cries and moans more sporadic, his muscles clenched as Kai hit his prostate in just the right way that another orgasm coursed it's way through his body. _

_ With the dead weight over him Kai pushed Ray off of him, rolling him onto his stomach and positioning himself over his legs, pressing back in over the top of him. The tighter fit causing him to express his own moan as his head went back, his hands back around Ray's hips and some in his hair that had been tossed around with him. _

_ Once more Ray was left to just lie there, his face buried into the sheets of Kai's bed as his abused body didn't know what to do with itself at the moment. Kai's thrusting was hard enough it knocked the headboard against the wall, the already messed up sheets only getting worse around their feet, the twist in Kai's gut getting tighter as he drove himself in as far as he could reach as it crashed into him before he had the chance to pull out. _

_ "Fuck…" He growled though Ray didn't know what it was exactly for, too tired to care and already falling asleep as Kai was wiping the two of them clean._

* * *

_**October 9**__**th **__**– 12**__**th**__**:**_

_Tala gripped Ray around the neck tightly, he didn't like this but there wasn't anything they could do about it. Kai stood off to the side, his bag slung over his shoulder and Tala's by his feet as he battled with himself to call the whole thing off and just stay. They had less than an hour to board their flight, while Ray had his own to catch around the same time. Since coming together this would be their first time being apart for so long. _

_ Something had come up that Kai and Tala were having to go to the States for some work, though to Ray they had told him it was for the enterprise when in truth they had been whistled for. _

_ Although he had told them he was going home to his village for the time they would be away, Ray was going to the States to meet up with Judy and the others for a meeting that was long overdue. Tyson and Kane were already on a flight over to the States, Oliver and Johnny had ignored his calls, Lee was coming with Mariah, and Brooklyn was waiting at their gate in order to leave once he said his goodbyes to his lovers._

_ "You call us when you land." Tala repeated for the third time since reaching his and Kai's gate. _

_ "I promise, I will." Ray chuckled, having to pry himself from Tala's hold and kissed him on the mouth quickly other wise he risked Tala throwing himself back around him. _

_ "And you two be careful." He said a bit stronger than what he felt at the moment, looking between the two of them. _

_ "When are we not careful?" Tala cracked a grin, though he only got an eye roll from the other two. _

_ Overhead they were called to board their flight, it was time they left but neither of them could find it in themselves to actually turn and leave him. _

_ "Just go, I'll be alright I promise. My village is safe." He affirmed for what seemed the hundredth time since they all left for the airport two hours ago. _

_ "Alright, just… Just call." Tala said again as he stepped back and picked his bag up off the floor. _

_ "I promise, love you." Ray smiled and Tala nodded and went to hand over his passports and tickets to the man behind the check in counter. _

_ Kai shifted where he stood as Ray caught his eye, though even after their makeup session a month prior things seemed to still be strained between them. Finally Ray bit the bullet, unable to take the silence or the way Kai looked as though he didn't know what was going on and stepped up to him. Pulling him into a tight hug, gripping him tightly and kissed his cheek. _

_ "Make sure you come back to me, okay?" Ray asked as tears welled up in his eyes, something about this whole trip not settling in well with him and he wasn't exactly sure why. _

_ "I promise."_

_ "I love you…" Ray sighed, once more kissing Kai's cheek. _

_ "Love you too." Kai kissed him back before pulling away, without looking back he took himself to the check in desk and slipped through the double doors that led into the tunnel that connected the plane. _

_ Ray stepped away quietly, still unsure what was happening as his gut made it feel as though he was fixing to puke. Chalking it up to nerves he turned on his heel and went off to find his own gate. _

_ "How'd that go?" Brooklyn questioned as Ray sat himself down beside him, being careful that they didn't touch. _

_ "Was hard…" Ray answered, fiddling with the ends of his hair he put up in a low ponytail where the dark locks fell over his shoulder and laid in his lap. _

_ "After that attack last week they've been more alert, I can't leave the house without Tala calling me at least five times in a day and Kai constantly asking if I'm alright." _

_ "You did take a bad beating." Brooklyn reminded, "You were asleep for two days." _

_ Ray nodded, not liking the memory though when he went to respond Anette approached the two of them with a cardboard tray with cups of coffee stuck inside, balancing the tray with one hand. _

_ "Figured you two could use something to wake up, it's going to be a long flight." She smiled as she popped out one of the cups from the tray and handed it over to Brooklyn. _

_ As Anette went to hand Ray's drink over to him his nose curled and his stomach twisted at the smell, quickly he declined with a shake of his head, trying to keep the rising bile from rising. _

_ "I'm okay." _

_ Anette arched a brow though simply put the cup back in the tray and sat down beside him, pinning him between her and Brooklyn on either side of him. _

_ "They already gone?" She asked. _

_ Ray nodded, "They'll be in Orlando a little bit before we reach New York."_

_ Anette went quiet as she nodded and her painted red lips turned upward into a smile._

* * *

_ The ground shook with the explosions going off one by one, the surrounding buildings crumbling down from their foundations as the air quivered with the immense heat that surrounded them all. There were fires raging in every direction; trees, cars, buildings, and the unlucky few who they couldn't get out in time caught up in the blazes. _

_ Why, how, there were Savages to start with hadn't been answered when asked. There had never been a Savage outbreak in the States, yet they were there. All they knew was that they had gone off to stop them, yet with everything on fire and breaking around them, it was as if they had done more damage than good._

_ The fight had started in an already broken down building where there had been a horde of Savages, as if they had been using the place as a hideaway, until the fight had expanded out into the streets; the explosives that had been planted to bring the building down going off once they had everyone evacuated. The moment the building had been brought down it was like a chain reaction that nobody had time to really comprehend what was going on amongst the chaos and confusion. _

_ The ground below where the building had fallen opened up as another horde of Savages spewed out through the rubble, like demons escaping the pits of hell, in a black mass of tarred bodies and skeletal wings before they hailed down from the sky like rain. _

_ "Fire!" Lee ordered over the ear splitting screams as the Savages moved in on them, the command coming in through the devices tucked behind their ears. _

_ The sounds of gunfire weren't enough to cut out the screams, the bullets piercing through the Savages though their numbers still outweighed their own. _

_ The settling dust, the gunpowder, and the fire in the air cut out those with the heightened sense of smell from knowing where the others were, unable to smell them nearby as they had to scatter away in different directions to avoid being taken over. _

_ On a taller building, where he could see what was going on and keeping an eye on those below him, Brooklyn stood with the pupils of his eyes slit and his black wings outstretched. There above everyone's heads, if they were to look up, was a bubble of black mass like a dome that fell and encased them all in within a tight radius; trying to keep the fight and damage contained to the best of his abilities but after holding it for so long he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out. _

_ In the streets below he could see the others only in the flashes of light they left behind, Max and Tyson were off with one another trying to take out the left flank of Savages that had crawled their way out from under the rubble. Gunfire still going off, though with the dome over their heads Lee's full powers were useless at the moment. _

_ As Brooklyn stood there, getting weaker by the second, the black mass deflected a bullet that had come from behind him. Gaining his attention he turned his head over his shoulder, peeking over the rounded parts of his wings as he watched another bullet deflect off his shield. _

_ "We have company." His strained tired voice came over the ear pieces. _

_ "What are they doing here?!" Tyson yelled back, the sounds of his gun firing following soon after. _

_ "Where are they?" Ray questioned in a more calm tone, though there was an urgency behind it. _

_ "I'd say about four Kilometers out, to the west." Brooklyn answered as he turned his attention away from the black mass behind him. _

_ "How long can you hold?" Ray questioned, his words getting cut in and out with the sound of his gun going off at the same time. _

_ "Not long." Brooklyn answered in a breath. _

_ "We fall back then, get off of there before you bring it down." Ray ordered. _

_ "Roger." Brooklyn smirked as another bullet was deflected off his shield behind him. _

_ Below him he could see the familiar tail of pink light flash across the streets, soon followed by black and then green where the three regrouped with Tyson and Max at the edge of his shield. Outstretching his wings he walked off the roof of the building he had been standing on, gliding gently down to the ground where the others were. As his feet touched the pavement his knees buckled slightly, faltering as he tried to stand. _

_ "What do we do?" Mariah questioned, "We barely made a dent, where are they all coming from?"_

_ Ray looked through the visor of his mask, the others with their own over their heads like him, as he took in their questioning eyes. Figuratively and literally he was backed into a corner, though he wasn't sure what the right decision was now. _

_ How or why the Lap Dogs had shown up he wasn't sure nor did he have time to think about it, he had to get the others out of there while also worrying about the Savages that had spewed out of the ground while others were still fighting their way out from under the rubble. If Brooklyn brought down his shield it risked the surrounding area and people, let the Lap Dogs into the fight where he had to worry about them as well and he couldn't let them handle it because there were too many Savages. _

_ "There isn't anything we can do…" He finally said, pressing his back against the wall to another already broken down building. "We keep fighting best we can, but this… This may be it…" _

_ Brooklyn shook his head, "It's not." _

_ Ray smirked behind his mask, though the others could see the upturn of his lips under the fabric. "Then how do we get out of this?" _

_ "I can't keep it up much longer, the Savages will get out and the Lap Dogs will get in, but we can get out." _

_ "And what of the others around here?!" Lee questioned in a yell. _

_ "We try to save as many as we can, that's why we did this." Max interjected heated, "We may not be able to save everyone, but a few are better than none!" _

_ "It's your call Boss." Tyson said as he turned his attention to Ray on his right still leaned up against the wall. _

_ "Once the barrier comes down, Lee." Ray started in a pain breath, gaining the other's attention on his right. "Light them up." _

_ Lee nodded; through the fabric of his own mask the others could see him smirk as his pupils slit. The others reloaded their rounds and repositioned their guns, the Savages in a frenzy around them as they hadn't been able to find their hideaway, and once everyone was ready Ray gave a nod to Brooklyn. _

_ "Bring it down." _

_ The black mass that had them all encaged slowly lifted, the Savages that had been around the outer rim trying to break free finally escaping through and like a trail of ants the others followed suit. In bright flashes Ray and Mariah took off after them as the ground began to shake and loud cracks of thunder roared over head as lightning surged across the sky. _

_ "C'mon, we need to get you somewhere to rest." Max urged Brooklyn._

_ Brooklyn wobbled on his feet, nodding as his wings retracted into his back and his pupils dilated. Following after the blonde into the rundown building they had found refuge beside, Tyson staying out at the front of it with his gun drawn up at the ready. _

_ As Mariah and Ray dodged around the lightning strikes that crashed around them, trying to block out the deafening cracks and screams from the Savages as they were hit and brought down, they fired their guns at the ones that were on the ground; a well precise bullet between the eyes and bringing them to their knees. Rushing to stop the ones that had already broken through the perimeter that had once been closed off, not wanting them to flood into the streets where pedestrians were, their bodies disappeared in the lights they gave off with nothing but a long tail behind him that indicated where they had once been. _

_ Lee was quickly tiring, there were too many at once and although he had finally started to make a dent into the ones that were flying and it seemed that no more were coming through the hole in the ground where the building had collapsed, there were still a good one hundred or more Savages hanging in the air above him. _

_ Gritting his teeth, his pupils getting thinner, he threw his hands down to his sides as a larger bolt of black lightning flew out from the darkened sky. The sound and shockwave that came from it hitting the ground shook them all and the surrounding buildings as if an earthquake was taking place at the moment, the sound so loud he had to clap his hands over his ears and causing Mariah and Ray to falter in their rush and clap their hands over their own ears as they came to a standstill. _

_ Mariah was tucked in a back alleyway, the Savages she had shot down from behind laid out before her as they were slowly turning back into their human forms. Trying to ride out the after shocks of Lee's attack, the ground still trembling and more cracks of thunder pierced her sensitive hearing. _

_ Ray on the other hand had blindly ran out onto the main road, chasing down the loose Savages before they got too far, having to stop in the center of the road where his own kills were left to lay on the cold asphalt before him. His gun left to lay at his feet as he had dropped it in order to clap his hands over his ringing ears, his legs just as tired as all the others. _

_ As the last echoing sounds of Lee's attacks died away it was quickly replaced by the howling screams of the remaining Savages before they were cut through by the sound of gunfire, though the sounds didn't echo through his ear piece and his blood ran cold. _

_ "G-Get out of there! They're here!" He yelled, trying to pick up his gun he had dropped while regaining his balance as he felt dizzy suddenly and his stomach was twisting in knots again. _

_ "Where are you?!" Mariah called over the ear piece. _

_ Before Ray could answer there was a click of the gun not even two feet away from him, his head snapping up quickly as he took in the lone man standing in the street across from him. A slick black helmet sat over the man's head as it covered his entire face, Ray able to see his own reflection in the visor that covered the man's eyes. The dead Savages the only thing separating them along the street and Ray's blood ran cold again as he stared at the barrel of the gun pointing at him. _

_ His left foot moved barely an inch back before his body was taken over by a green light as he rushed back towards the others, though as the sound of the gun firing rang in his ears and a searing pain shot up through his leg he collapsed onto the ground with a terrible scream. _

_ "RAY!" Everyone's voices came rushing into his already sore eardrums. _

_ Clenching his teeth, trying to bite through the pain as the bullet made a clean exit through the back of his leg, he curled up on himself while trying to put pressure on the wound as his blood seeped between his fingers and soaked the inside of his pant legs. _

_ With another click of the hammer behind him, Ray's body stiffened as he began to sweat though couldn't get back up on his feet to get away. _

_ "Just… Stay… Stay away…" He panted out quietly to the others, "Get them home Brooklyn…" _

_ The second gun shot seemed to ring louder than the first behind him, though there came no pain and soon he found himself being hauled up into Lee's arms off the cold ground. Tyson standing in front of the two of them until Lee disappeared back towards the others, the bullet deflecting off Tyson's skin as it bounced off him and the shell clinked against the asphalt. _

_ Tyson looked down at the shell at his feet, smirking behind his mask as he kicked the shell back towards the other male across the street and drew up his own gun as the other person took a slight step back from him. With his finger on the trigger Tyson went to pull when the gun in his hand was shot out of his own, coming from the right of him, the metal of his gun clacking against the ground as it bounced away from him. _

_ The moment he looked back up from having watched it hit the ground the other male that had been standing in front of him was gone, no trace of his presence there as if he hadn't been there at all aside from the lone casing of his bullet where Tyson had kicked it back to him. With a shrug Tyson carried himself back towards the others, snatching his gun up off the ground and ran as fast as he could back to their temporary hideout. _

_ Mariah was knelt down in front of Ray, putting a tourniquet around his leg. Ray's head went back against the wall they had sat him against, his mask having been removed so he could breathe easier, his fangs sinking into his lower lip and drawing more blood as the tourniquet tightened around the wound. _

_ "We're down two people now… There's at least one hundred or more Savages left and now with those damn Dogs here…" Lee growled out. _

_ "We were able to only stop maybe twenty from breaching, if the Lap Dogs would put their focus on them instead of us then this would be easier. We could use the help." Mariah shook his head as she sat back from Ray after making sure the tourniquet was put on properly. _

_ "Fuck them." Tyson spat out almost arrogantly, "They shot Ray, after he already took down those Savages! They're not on our side here." _

_ "All of us hiding in here isn't saving anyone, we need to get back out there." Max spoke up. _

_ "Then we all risk dying, is it worth that?!" Lee snapped back at him. _

_ "It's what we're supposed to do!" Max argued._

_ Lee pushed himself off the floor, stepping up to Max as he tore off his mask and threw it on the ground, squaring his shoulders as he crowded in Max's space in challenge. _

_ "I can break you with my pinky, so back __**up**__." Max said as he narrowed his eyes down at the shorter male. _

_ "That's enough!" Ray yelled over the top of them, "This isn't helping anything, Lee back off! Everyone else just shut the fuck up!" At that the other's mouths snapped shut, turning to him for their next set of orders. _

_ "We need to evacuate, as far as we can. Brooklyn, I need you to make another barrier, make sure the Savages are inside it and we'll set off several rounds of explosives inside." _

_ "That'll destroy half of this block!" Mariah gaped at him. _

_ "It'll get the job done, and quicker before we lose anyone." Brooklyn said with a small shake of his head, "I can do it but I'll need to get back up high enough I know where to make the barrier." _

_ "What about the Dogs?" Lee questioned. _

_ "Take them out too." Ray ordered. _

_ Everyone nodded, Lee gathering up his mask off the floor as he and Mariah went out evacuate the area. Max helped Ray to his feet, keeping his weight off his wounded one, as Tyson went through their bags of supplies for the explosives they would need. _

_ "It looks like the Dogs have started sweeping through, there's more bodies now in the streets but there are casualties." Mariah's saddened voice came over their ear pieces. _

_ "Just get who you can and get out." Ray repeated back to her quickly, turning to Brooklyn who had stood up with him and was holding the side of his head. _

_ "You sure you can do this?" _

_ "For a short time, so we'll have to be quick." Brooklyn nodded back, his hand dropping down to his side. "Don't worry about me, you need to get out of here while you can." _

_ "You all be careful." Ray said as Max picked him up into his arms as if he were made of paper, gripping the wounded man to his chest as he took off out of the building quickly. _

_ Brooklyn soon followed after with Tyson on his heel, the two carrying the bags of explosives over their backs. Quickly setting them up along the street, staying on high alert for either the Savages or Lap Dogs as they worked before Brooklyn's wings spread out his back and he took flight to the tallest building he could find. _

_ "Is everyone ready?" Brooklyn asked, taking in the Savages that were still alive; their numbers having dwindled down again thanks to the Lap Dogs. _

_ Getting the confirmation from the others Brooklyn's eyes slit into a fine point, the dark night time sky growing darker as a swirl of black mass started to form over the perimeter they had mapped out. The new barrier taking over the entire block, trapping the Savages inside along with the Lap Dogs that were busy with a small horde themselves. _

_ From his perch where he could see them, there were only three of them out there, each with a helmet over their heads and plated body armor with their guns held up and firing and knocking out the Savages that were circling around them. _

_ As the bottom edge of the barrier's walls touched the ground, forming a wall that blocked their escape, one of the Lap Dogs lowered their gun and their head shot up to finally take in what was going on around them. _

_ "Kai!" Tala's muffled voice came out from behind his helmet._

_ Kai's head jerked towards him, not needing to question what was wrong when he could see the black mass hanging around them like another dome. _

_ "Shit…" Kai cursed, "Spencer we need a way out!" _

_ The taller male stopped as he had gone off to charge in the direction of more Savages, turning back around and taking in what had happened around them. _

_ "There's nothing I can do against this!" Spencer yelled back. _

_ Tala's head swiveled on his shoulders from one man to the other, his heart hitting harder and harder inside his chest. They were trapped with no way out. _

_ Kai yelled something back to Spencer, his words being drowned out by the sounds of explosives going off. The ground shook with the explosions going off one by one, the surrounding buildings crumbling down from their foundations as the air quivered with the immense heat that surrounded them all. There were fires raging in every direction; trees, cars, buildings, and the unlucky few who they couldn't get out in time caught up in the blazes that filled the inside of the dome they were trapped in. _

_ The Savages that had been trapped in the barrier with them let out painful screams as the explosives burst into more fire that stretched and engulfed their bodies and anything it could reach. The buildings were falling in rapid succession as the flames licked at the cars parked along the streets they began to explode themselves, causing more smoke and debris to fill up the dome. _

_ The three of them were already choking on the smoke as it slithered up inside their helmets, suffocating on it and the dust and dirt that had been kicked up with the destruction going on around them. _

_ Kai dropped his gun, holding out a hand at the raging fires in an attempt to calm them down. The ground quaked again, knocking his footing where he faltered and the flames that had been receding turned around and grew in strength. Sweat trickled down his face under his mask, for the first time since he had been Fused he felt the effects of the fires surrounding them. _

_ Tala collapsed against the ground, choking on the smoke harder as his head began to feel light and dizzy with each inhale as he struggled to keep his eyes open just a bit longer. Spencer wasn't far behind him, rushing up to his side and putting a protective hand around his back as he struggled to breathe himself and feeling Tala go limp under him._

_ Calling his heat, everything he had within himself, Kai forced his legs to walk himself through the flames that had started to spread out like a wild fire along the streets. The dome still trapping them inside it all. Making his way through the sea of fire his arms swung out in a gentle motion, calling the flames closer to him and again for the first time he felt them lick and sear into his skin as the fire crawled up his legs as if they were alive. _

_ "K… Kai!" Spencer struggled to yell out for him, watching in horror as Kai's body became completely engulfed in the fire that had surrounded him and him alone now. _

_ The smoke was still hanging in the air suffocating them until the barrier was released. With the geyser of fire now swirling around Kai like a tornado he collapsed in the middle of it down onto one knee, forcing his helmet off his sweat covered face, his bangs sticking to his skin as he tried to calm the fire and suck more of it into his body. _

_ Each new sliver of the fire that soaked into his skin caused another gasp of pain to leave him, his pale skin turning red and starting to burn and bubble. His own heat not enough to fight back the heat of the flames on his skin. Like an itch there was an irritating feeling around his shoulder blades, not sure what it was or why he continued to put all his focus on what he was doing, yet once more the geyser only grew in size as the top of it almost reached the dome over their heads and began to expand outward away from him. _

_ As the itch in his back continued to get more irritating he grit his teeth, digging deep to pull up all he had of Dranzer's powers, the color of his eyes flickering from crimson to black when he felt something within him snap. His heat surging out like it never had before, fighting back against the heat of the fire that surrounded him. The burns on his skin fading as steam began to rise off of him, feeling that snap within him he tried to call it back but was unable to. _

_ Like chains breaking he couldn't put it back together, the itch getting more intense and his now black colored eyes rolled into the back of his head as it lifted upwards and his mouth fell open. The flames rushed inside his mouth as if he had sucked them up, feeling no burn or sting in his throat or stomach as the geyser was swallowed up whole. _

_ For a second Spencer could only stare in shock at what had just happened before there was an unexplained gust of wind that shot out from under where Kai was knelt and the fire that had been devoured shot back out of him in all directions like a tidal wave that reached across the entire perimeter of the barrier. Spencer let out a painful cry as the fire reached him and Tala, searing their skin until it seemed to crawl away and around them yet the marks were already left and Spencer's body shook from the pain. _

_ The black mass of the dome shattered like glass as the wave of fire reached it, the fire expanding out further and taking over several more blocks that had originally been spared by the destruction and those on those blocks that hadn't been evacuated were caught up in the flames instantly. _

_ Upon his perch Brooklyn had watched in shock, horror, and amazement at what had transpired below him. Only bringing himself out of it when he realized that the fire that had spread out from Kai's body was going to reach the others who had found slight refuge in a building on the outskirts of the barrier while the attack had commenced. _

_ "Get out of there!" Brooklyn yelled out to them all._

_ The warning had come too late. The glass shattered as the flames burst through the windows, the entire building being engulfed quickly before they all had the time to get out. _

_ Lee had rushed Max and Tyson out in time, Mariah had stayed back to try and get Ray up off the ground and with his wounded leg it hindered them from escaping before the fire reached them. _

_ Ray had put his hands up to cover his face as the flames poured in through the windows and open door, a terrible scream echoing in his ears as the fire attacked Mariah though had left him with burn marks on the palms of his hands but had seemed to pass by him after leaving their mark on his skin. _

_ Pushing through the pain he was in he grabbed Mariah by the arm, pulling her out of the fire and with everything he had his body disappeared in a green flash of light as the building was overtaken by the fire. _

_ Brooklyn flew down to where they were, Lee grabbing his sister and pulling her to his side as she cried and the side of her face was left with a burn mark that covered the right side of her face. Her upper lip looked as though she had been scratched, her blood was running down into the corner of her mouth and down her chin, more tears in the side of her face were left behind that ran across her cheek and into her jawline. _

_ "We need to get out of here, now." Brooklyn said urgently, though wasn't about to disclose all that he had witnessed. _

_ "Yeah… We're done here…" Ray panted as he couldn't tear his eyes away from Mariah while ignoring his own wounds, his stomach churning to the point he couldn't keep it in any longer. _

_ Brooklyn stepped up, not thinking at the time, and placed a hand on his back as Ray was bent over dry heaving what he couldn't get out of himself. In that instant, with the simple touch, the whites of their eyes took over and in their heads they heard the soft cries of a newborn baby. _

_ "Why didn't you tell us?" Brooklyn asked as he was the first to recover and took his hand off Ray's back. _

_ Ray wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as his heart dropped into the pit of his stomach as the others were giving him questioning looks. The devastation that had happened around them, to their defeat and Mariah getting hurt, he didn't know what to say because he hadn't known and now he had just risked his unborn child's life without having even realized it._

* * *

_ Feeling sick to his stomach for thousands of reasons, Ray stepped into his home with a slight limp in his step, his hands wrapped in gauze and yet he felt numb to it all. He could smell Kai and Tala in the house, the two of them in Kai's office and before he reached the door Kai had thrown the door open with a look on his face as if he had seen a ghost. _

_ The past four days they hadn't been able to stay in touch, Ray had given them the call when he landed in his 'village' then he had been caught up in the attack in Orlando the following day to being transported back to the BBA in New York with the others before being sent back home. _

_ Mariah was still undergoing surgery at the moment, Tyson and Kane had gone back to Japan no worse for wear, Lee was staying with Mariah until she recovered and Brooklyn and Max had returned to the BBA in Russia with him. _

_ He had stayed the night in the BBA after they arrived back in Russia, not wanting to come home at all with the news he had to give but had been encouraged to go by Max and Brooklyn when all he wanted to do was stay so he knew if and when Mariah would be okay. There was too much guilt on his shoulders now, the pile just ever growing that he couldn't think straight at the moment and fell into Kai's chest where he sobbed uncontrollably. _

_ Tala, weak and with a limp of his own, rushed towards the two in the doorway of the office. Everything from two nights ago a blur though he had a burn mark on his lower back, yet he was unsure of where it had come from. When he woke up he was already back in Russia in the governments medical ward with Kai sitting beside him, having fallen asleep in the chair beside his bed and when questioned Kai had simply told him they had failed. _

_ What that meant, he didn't truly know, but he didn't like those words. Being released not even five hours ago they had come into the office to discuss it more in length, but after sitting in an uncomfortable silence instead nothing had been disclosed of that night between the two of them. _

_ "Kit… What happened?" Tala asked gently behind Kai's shoulder who had yet to let go of Ray, the nekojin sobbing harder into his chest where he had buried his face. _

_ Neither of them cared to see him this way, though not knowing what to do for him they just waited it out until the sobs lessened and he was left with trying to get some air back into his lungs afterwards. Trying to dry his eyes with his bandaged hands, his breathing still coming in as shuddering gasps. He hiccuped as Kai tilted his chin back and brushed his thumbs under his eyes carefully, wiping away the tears that still flowed out of him. _

_ "What happened?" Kai asked in a soothing voice, cupping Ray's cheeks in his hold as he looked into his tear filled eyes. _

_ "…I'm pregnant…"_

* * *

_**June 12**__**th**__**:**_

_Kai paced the waiting room for the tenth time since they had arrived at the hospital, his nerves were shot the moment Ray had woken the two of them up two hours ago when he said he was going into labor. Tala had rushed into Kai's room, Tala having been sleeping with Ray almost permanently after he had broken the news to them, overly excited and ready to go as Kai was trying to get himself even out of his own bed. _

_ It had all gone by too fast and too slow for him, wondering where the hell the time had went since then. Not only had they all been busy with preparing for the arrival of the child, he and Tala were being swamped as the attacks after Orlando seemed endless now. It wasn't the right time for this to be happening but it was already far too late for them to change it. _

_ There had been a small bit of hope within him that it wasn't his, that Tala could finally get what he had been wanting all along and be given back what he had lost previously. They knew it was a boy, and that was a relief in of itself, but that was all they had known. Ray wasn't sure who had more potential of being the father over the other this time, Tala had gotten to him the day before Kai had and based on the dates it could have been either one of theirs and Kai prayed it wasn't his._

_ "Mr. Hiwatari?" A nurse called him, halting his pacing as his head snapped up towards her. "They're ready for you now." _

_ He nodded, his neck and back stiff as he followed her down the hall. Tala had gone in with Ray to be beside him for the c-section, only one of them had been allowed to go in and Kai had practically shoved Tala into the scrubs and into the room with Ray before he decided to form a rut in the waiting room with his pacing._

_ Coming up to the closed door the nurse gave it a few gentle taps before she opened it, letting Kai step in before her and shut it to follow after him. _

_ Ray was laid on the bed, his hair undone and a mess while he still had his IV's in his left hand. Beside the bed was a plastic bassinet on a wooden cart, though it was empty as Tala was holding the swaddled babe to his chest at Ray's feet on the bed. _

_ Tala finally looked up away from the newborn in his arms, nothing but joy shining in his eyes and Kai felt a weird sense of relief wash over him as he stopped to stand in front of him. _

_ Ray on the other hand seemed to shrink into the bed, watching the two carefully. Not sure what was fixing to happen between the two of them, holding his breath as Tala rose to his feet and held his son out to Kai to take. _

_ Kai rose a brow though held his arms out without question, letting the weight of the baby settle in his hold as Tala kissed him on the lips over the top of the newborn. _

_ "Congratulations." He smiled at him and the other two could see that he meant it even if in his voice wavered slightly. _

_ The relief Kai had felt wash through him before was replaced by a wash of dread, his eyes going slightly wide as he finally looked down at the newborn in his arms for the first time where crimson clashed with crimson. _

_ "Kai, sit down." Ray said quickly, seeing Kai's body sway slightly. _

_ Tala grabbed him under the arm, guiding him to the green faux leather chair in the corner of the room by the window, helping him to sit down before he collapsed onto the floor with the babe in tow. _

_ Ray expressed a sigh of relief once Kai was sat down, having about jumped off the bed to grab the two of them before they went down onto the hardwood floor of his hospital room. _

_ "You okay?" Tala asked as he gently brushed Kai's bangs away from his face, though Kai had yet to look away from the newborn in his arms as he hadn't registered anything else around him. _

_ "I'll give you two some time." Tala directed at Ray who nodded to him, watching Tala slip out of the room with the nurse, the door closing behind the two of them. _

_ With the soft click of the door closing Kai's head snapped up to Ray on the bed, "I'm a daddy…" _

_ Ray nodded back, "I'm sorry." _

_ "Don't be." Kai shook his head at him, "It's going to be okay." He said as his attention went back down to his son in his arms, a faint smile coming across his face as their eyes met again. _

_ Tears pricked Ray's eyes, his own sense of relief washing through him. Like with the last pregnancy there had been a wall between them, Kai was on edge because this time they didn't know who the father was and he had dreaded the idea for a long time that it was Kai's all along. Feared that it would break what they had built up, but seeing that smile on Kai's face he felt those fears wash away. He was going to be an amazing father. _

_ "I was thinking Kain…" Ray suggested with his own smile on his lips. _

_ Kai quirked a brow at him, "You mean from the Psykicks?"_

_ Ray chuckled, shaking his head. "No, K-A-I-N. That way he matches you." _

_ "What about Gou?" Kai questioned instead. _

_ Ray mad a face as if he was gagging on something, "No." He stated plainly. _

_ Kai rolled his eyes a little and looked back down at their son, "I guess Kain isn't so bad. My last name or yours?" _

_ "Yours."_

_ Kai nodded, "Kain Hiwatari, that's not bad at all." He smiled again._

* * *

**Present:**

Tapping her nails against her pale skin, her arms folded around her chest, as she paced in front of the monitors hung up on the wall in front of her Anette's face was set in a hardened frown. Staring harder at the monitors and what was taking place inside the home through the security system she had hacked into some months ago, her heat was slowly seeping out of her.

They were leaving, soon, and they were taking Kain with them out of her reach unless she stopped them. It was a waiting game at the moment, one phone call to her husband and she had a team out within minutes heading towards the house to stop them all and retrieve the child. As the clock kept ticking down there was no signs of that team raiding through the house, the occupants in it still blissfully unaware that she was even watching them as they packed their belongings and were already packing the car and van.

Precious minutes, seconds, were being wasted and once more her weapon was fixing to slip through her fingers. Without tearing her eyes away from the monitors she backed away to her desk, snatching up the phone from the top of it and pressed the buttons down hard as she dialed her desired number. Watching the monitors again as the ringing on her end started up, one of the occupants in the house pausing in what they had been carrying through the hall on the second floor to answer their phone.

"Delay them." She ordered in a harsh tone.

The one with the phone held in their hands turned their attention directly at the camera, that was nestled in the corner of the wall and ceiling, as if they were looking directly at her through it and she them.

With the silence on the other end, Anette's eyes hard on the monitor, the person pulled their phone down away from the side of their face and dropped it on the floor, crushing it with the heel of their boot before walking over it and out of sight.

A growl tore through Anette's throat as she slammed the receiver of the phone back down onto the base, her heat outstretching further around her. Turning to her desk fully she put her hands on the top of it, shoving everything off the top of it to the side with a frustrated yell as her computer and anything else that had been sat upon her desk crashed onto the floor.

Straightening herself up there was a knock on her door, her crimson eyes sweeping towards it quickly. "WHAT?!" She bit out.

Slowly the door opened and an older man in a white lab coat stepped into the room nervously, already feeling the heat in the room at a rising temperature and sweat formed over his skin.

"We have those tests results you asked for, for project Echo…"

"WELL?!"

The older man visibly shook, "Failed." He informed in a trembling voice.

"GET OUT!" Anette screeched as fire danced along her finger tips.

The man hurriedly slipped back through the door, closing it quickly behind him without a word or look back at her.

Trying to calm herself Anette stepped back up to the monitors, her fiery eyes blazing as she watched the car and the van pull out of the driveway and down the road until they were out of sight.

Grabbing her cellphone from the side pocket in her skirt, she went to Roman's number now that she had just destroyed her other phone.

"They left; he crushed his phone in front of me. I don't care what you have to do to get me my baby Roman, just get me my baby!" She screamed into the phone the second Roman had picked up.

"We're waiting here at the pick up sight now, looks like their ride isn't here yet. We still have a chance." Roman soothed.

Anette chuckled darkly into the phone, putting her free hand against her face as if she were trying to hide behind it. "Of course…" She seemed to sigh.

"It's going to be alright." Roman tried to sooth again.

"Just get me my baby." Anette repeated before she hung up on him, quickly sweeping out of the room.

The door that had been closed since he woke up began to open, both Kai and Brooklyn turning their attention to it as Anette stepped into the room with the two of them.

Brooklyn stayed sat where he was as Kai stood, his arm still dislocated and with the collar around his neck he didn't have his powers to go up against her.

"It's show time boys." She smirked at the two of them, four other heavier set men stepping into the room from behind her.

Two went to Brooklyn and brought him up to his feet, the other two going to Kai and grabbing him by the arms. The one digging his fingers into his dislocated one as a warning, making him wince but knew not to put up a fight against them. The two of them getting dragged out of their cell and down the all too familiar corridors that still haunted Kai's dreams, ending up being dragged into Anette's office where they were forced to stand beside the one-way glass that put the Savages on display as they were clinging to the walls and looking inside even if they couldn't see through the glass.

"What is this?" Kai questioned as he tore his eyes away from the Savage that was hanging around the glass closest to him, the two men that had dragged him into the room still holding onto his arms with Brooklyn's two doing the same to him.

"Thought you two might have been bored, thought we'd all relax and watch a movie together." Anette chirped as she grabbed a remote off the shelf beside the monitors, flipping the screens that showed off an open field and lines of trees.

Brooklyn looked from her and the monitors to Kai beside him wordlessly before going back to the monitors, not understanding her game this time as she stepped back a little and put her arms over her chest.

"And look, seems we made it just in time." She cooed.

Over the screens of the monitor the wind had picked up around the trees, tossing the leaves and branches around wildly as if a storm was passing through. Slowly, over the top of the canopy the bottom of a helicopter was coming into view until it settled down on the ground in the open field that was surrounded by the trees.

"Stay in your positions." Came a scratchy command, like the person was talking through a walkie-talkie.

The video footage on the monitors changed angles, giving a better view of the field and the helicopter as it sat in waiting. It wasn't long before the familiar car and van pulled up from behind the helicopter through the other side of trees, parking as close as possible as flashes of green, pink, and black zipped back and forth across the screen.

In minutes the helicopter's propellers started back up and Anette felt her blood and heat boiling again.

"What are you waiting for?!" She screamed at the monitors.

The scratchy sound came back through the speakers, "Killing two birds with one stone."

Both Kai and Brooklyn felt a chill run down their spines, their eyes not tearing away from the monitors as the helicopter started to lift off the ground and began to hover in the air just a few feet above the field until it lifted higher and higher.

"FIRE!" The static was cut short by a loud booming noise, the video footage catching the missile that had been shot out whizzing past the screen and making a direct hit on the helicopter that caused it to explode on impact.

Pieces and chunks of fiery debris fell from the sky, Anette's smirk getting wider as she watched her husbands men rush out onto the open field the second the helicopter came back down with a crash.

Brooklyn felt bile rise in his throat as he had watched it all, unable to do anything with his arms broken and the collar around his neck the voided his powers. His head snapping towards Kai the moment he felt a heat coming from beside him, seeing the crimson of his eyes flickering from red to black, the heat coming from him expanding outward and forcing the two men to release their hold on him.

The shocks from the collar weren't even registering as the tiny teeth embedded into the back of his neck harder, the device short circuiting itself out as fire shot out from under Kai's feet causing the two men holding onto Brooklyn tripping and falling over themselves to get away as Brooklyn stepped back from him cautiously.

There was a stream of tears rolling down Kai's face, the color of his eyes now completely black the pupils disappeared within the new color. Small buds formed around his back, as an annoying itch had started to make itself known before his shirt tore away from him as black coal colored wings spurt out from behind him and spread out their length with droplets of blood dripping from the feathers.

Anette had turned to watch him, smirking the entire time even when the heat and flames grew in strength around him. Pulling out a handkerchief from her back pocket she put it over her face, the vents to her office spewing out a purplish haze that filled the room quickly.

The heat that had been expanding slowly drew back into Kai's body as it swayed slightly, losing his balance he fell forward against the cold stone floor where his forehead smacked against it and his eyes shut on him as if he were asleep. Brooklyn's body falling to the floor after him.

"We have a problem." The voice over the monitor broke the silence as the vents began to suck in the purplish smog it had spat out moments ago.

Anette turned to the monitors again, "What're you talking about? He should have survived."

"That would be true, if the helicopter hadn't been empty when we shot it down."


	19. Chapter 19

**Woooo, another one down. Really short compared to all the others but it's late and I just want these damn things updated with something. So here we are.  
**

**Just finished, so it's not perfect by any means so please excuse the mess. Either way, enjoy!**

* * *

_"I'm a daddy..."_

_ Never before had he ever thought he would have actually enjoyed the taste of those words on his tongue, ever feel this way about holding a child of his own making in his arms the way he was now as he cradled his newborn son in his arms fondly._

_ He was so small, so perfect in every way possible. How could he ever show his gratitude for something so precious that had been given to him, against all odds?_

_ He was a daddy, his reservations about it seemingly gone with the wind as those tiny crimson eyes blinked and stared into his own. What he wouldn't do, or give, to protect him with all his being now._

_ Daddy. The word, the concept, always seemed so foreign to him until now. Granted he still had no clue how to be one, not yet, but he was always a fast learner and he had mother hen himself there to help him along with Tala beside him._

_ He hadn't ever really had the desire to expand their family, now that it had, he wouldn't have traded it for the world._

_ Until Ray breathed out, "I'm sorry."_

_ Kai couldn't blame him, not after the thousands of times he had been so against this very situation. But it wasn't Ray's fault, it was his own. Yet he wouldn't dare call what he held and guarded in his arms a mistake by any means._

_ "Don't be." He shook his head at Ray on the bed, "It's going to be okay." _

His own words echoed in his head, like a bad nightmare as everything he had ever held dear and loved came crashing down in a blazing inferno on those screens he was forced to watch.

Ray, Tala… Kain, his entire world. They were on that helicopter as it was blown and ripped apart. While inside his chest he felt something snap, unable to hold it in nor did he want to right now.

The collar around his neck shocked him though the pain was barely a dull roar, his heat surging along his skin to the point it made the thick and moldy air around them quiver.

Whatever restraint he had to hold Black back he let go of willingly, what more did he have to lose when his everything was now gone? It wouldn't bring them back, he knew that, but the release he needed would be satisfaction enough if he could wipe that smug grin on Anette's painted lips clean off.

His shoulder blades began to itch, the familiar swell of immense heat collecting within the center of his chest as the collar around his neck short circuited out and began to melt against heated his skin. When the black wings finally erupted through flesh and fabric he let out a pained cry, the color of his eyes flicking rapidly from red to black until the coal color overtook to the point his pupils disappeared inside it.

What happened after that he couldn't recall when he finally woke up, the collar being replaced with a new one that dug into his skin tighter than the first. A heavy weight pulling on his back that he soon came to realize were his wings that he had no clue how to retract, though the crimson in his eyes had come back as he looked about the room he had been stashed away inside of.

He knew this room, knew it all too well once his memories had returned to him years ago. It had been his, when he lived in the Abbey, the stone walls still stained with his blood when he was a child, along with the tally marks he had etched into the wall with rocks where his bed had been pushed against that was still there; though it was now broken and worn down from the years gone by. The addition were the chains on the ceiling, keeping his arms suspended over his head as his feet were left touching the ground along with the tips of his wings dragging behind him.

With the collar back on his neck in working order, the chill of the air bit into his exposed skin, they having tied a sheet just under the collar around his neck that only covered his chest and stomach since his shirt had ripped apart from his wings. The cold air seeping between the thin fabric against his front, while also blowing through the front of it where it felt as though he was being pinned in every direction by blocks of ice.

It didn't matter how times he tried to call his heat to him, actually losing count in trying so hard and for so long, since it didn't come to him at all that he was left in a more weakened state than when he had first woken up after the collar sent shocks through his neck each time and the teeth embedded into him deeper. How they had managed to suppress Dranzer on top of Black's powers he didn't know, though it was clear Anette had covered all her bases. She was still one step ahead of them all.

As he was left to hang there from the ceiling and the chains that cut into his wrists which weren't healing like they should due to the collar voiding out his powers, his mind took him back to the images of the helicopter coming down after being hit with a missile. The fire and the wreckage that it had turned into was more than anything the others would have been able to survive, everything he had tried to protect his entire life was gone just like that and he had no idea on how to even stop Anette now on his own. Or even if he could.

Tears ran down his face as his head hung limply, his chin resting on his chest as the tiny needles sticking into his skin around his neck bit into him tighter with the movement though he ignored the pain best he could. There was a throbbing in his head, from when he had fallen and hit the stone floors after collapsing, yet couldn't remember having even done so.

However long he had been left to suspend in the air in his cell and the events that had led up to him being placed in there was nothing but a dark haze, while the last things he could remember was something he'd rather forget.

At the sound of heels clacking along the stone floors coming towards the cell doors, his head shot up as his eyes narrowed when Anette stepped up on the other side of the door.

"Good morning, I trust you slept well?" She cooed, though there was something in her eyes that Kai caught onto despite the smug tone she displayed.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. What, was I just supposed to let them get away?" She continued after not having gotten a response from her first question.

Trying to call his heat to him again Kai bit his lip as the collar around his neck sent a shock into his system, and once more he couldn't call anything to him while being reduced to look into those eyes that mirrored his own.

"Though…" Anette continued as that look in her eyes Kai had caught onto earlier grew in strength, until she turned away from him and leaned her back against the cell bars that made up his door.

"I guess I should inform you that the mission failed, of course we're looking into what happened but they're alive." She explained in an angry tone, Kai able to feel her heat starting to seep into the cold air around them.

Kai's eyes widened at the revelation, his once shattered heart mending instantly at her words. They were alive…

"For now…" Anette spoke over his thoughts, her voice grating against his eardrums. "We can only assume they're run off to that village of Kon's, I'd ask you where it is but even you don't know where it's at. So… What do we do now, little brother?" She asked as she spun around against the cell bars, taking hold of them as she stared into the darkened room at him.

"Black is awake, but of course you don't know how to control him which is another hurdle we have to step over. Feathers is on the mend, but even he seems reluctant to help me now." She seemed to pout at him, all the while Kai just continued to glare at her as he grit his teeth tightly.

"Though of course he would let something as silly and fickle as _love_ to get in his way, he wasn't raised with the same principles we were raised on. Then again, look at where that pesky little feeling got you. And look at where it's gotten them."

"Do you have a point, to any of this?" Kai cut over her, his voice rumbling out of his cold chest.

"Yes, actually if you cared to listen." Anette seemed to mock back, "See, it seems like you're overdue for a lesson again. I don't need you to control Black as I can do that well on my own, but first we have to get rid of those pesky little feelings inside you." She smirked.

* * *

Hours had gone by that they were reduced to sitting and staring at one another, Tala's arms full of Kain curled up on his lap and sleeping against his chest. Ray was beside him though they hadn't said a word to one another since boarding the helicopter that had taken them to safety, all the while the others muttered and whispered to one another over the sound of the propellers whirring outside and keeping them in flight.

The longer Ray sat there, his arms pressed into his chest and his nails digging into his skin, the more of his anger continued to boil and bubble. A small, very small, part of him was only relieved they had been able to get away by the skin of their teeth. Of course, if it wasn't for the rat currently sitting on the other wall of the helicopter across from him, then they wouldn't have needed to call in a second helicopter to start with and use up energy they barely had to make it seem like they had boarded it and sent it flying off. Thankfully they could control it by remote, nobody had to die in the fiery inferno, but Helicopters weren't cheap and the fact there had been a rat sitting there around them all along continued to fuel his anger.

He couldn't even say he was surprised it had been him, apparently all along it seemed too. Tala had said a word, barely spared him a second glance once they had settled and they had already been up in the air on their way for the past four hours; far enough away from Anette and her Savages. It was tempting to throw him off, be done with him, but Ray wanted to know why.

Why, after everything he had already done to help them, help Kai, would Bryan turn around and work for her? Betray his closest friends, people he claimed to love. None of the answers seemed good enough, not to Ray and he was sure Tala felt the same and why he chose to hold Kain in order to keep from lashing out.

If they thought just because he was pregnant that meant he wasn't going to snap at some point, they were dead wrong, and after another had gone by with seven more to go, he snapped.

The sound of thunder outside shook them all inside the metal helicopter, jarring some of them awake and startling the others as they were preparing to wave out a thunderstorm they thought they were currently flying into, until they noticed the slit golden eyes and the fangs being bared.

"Ray…" Tala sighed, shifting an arm from under Kain's small body and touching his shoulder where Ray jerked out from under his touch.

Bryan didn't look away from him the moment his eyes locked with Ray's, having prepared for this moment though if he was honest, he was surprised it had only taken this long before someone demanded an explanation and he had them. He was prepared, as he also had saved their lives in the end as well.

"Listen, I did it to help." He started in a calm tone, his eyes flicking to Tala who turned and looked away from him. Unable to ignore the sting that settled in his chest from such a simple movement.

"If it wasn't for me then we'd all be dead, I know that doesn't fix anything but at least we're alive."

"Don't give me that bullshit! 'Oh I save you, so be grateful'." Ray snapped back sarcastically with a roll of his eyes, "If you were any help, then we wouldn't need to be running hundreds of miles away. We wouldn't be needing to leave KAI!" He roared out with another clash of thunder outside.

"So WHY?! Why would you work alongside her?!" He demanded in a growl.

"Ray…" Tala tried again as Kain flinched in his hold and started to stir.

"It was to help you!" Bryan yelled back, "She promised to fuse me so I took it, I took it so I could actually be useful against her. She sent me those emails, I gave them to Tala and Kai to help, everything I've done has _not_ been for her but for them!"

Ray scoffed back at him, "Why would she approach you? She got something out of it too, so what did you give her?"

"I approached her." Bryan corrected; his eyes once more moving from Ray to Tala who had started to chew on the inside of his cheek while still not looking his way.

"I approached her after the Orlando incident, because we almost lost Tala. When Kai had asked me to start digging up any information that I could I was able to hack into the BBA's files a long time ago, saw she was on your database as well as theirs. I put two and two together and approached her. Telling her I wanted to be fused and she could use me how she saw fit. But I swear, it was to help you when you needed it."

"We needed your 'help' months ago!" Ray countered, "Where was this 'help' you're spouting off about? Where were you when people were dying, when Tyson was being held captive for five months!?"

Bryan shook his head, a sigh passing his lips as he rubbed at his face. "The Fusion process wasn't done yet; I was still useless to you all. If I came out, as a double agent against her, then it would have ended badly for all of you. None of you would be sitting right here right now if it wasn't for me keeping my mouth shut until it was time."

Ray clenched his teeth, shifting angrily where he sat. Bryan's explanations, his excuses, just weren't enough to calm his anger. Right now, they were missing Kai and no amount of excuses were ever going to be enough to forgive Bryan for keeping this from them.

"You don't understand…" Bryan started against the silence that slowly began to creep in around them, "She has an army, as she says, of Savages that can span and overtake in a matter of hours. None of you were ready for that, if I slipped and she caught on then she was going to release them into the world all at once. It would have been a blood bath."

Shivers ran down all their spines at his chilling words, their mouths hanging open as their eyes grew wide.

"Are these ones like the others, where they just get back up?" Mariah asked in a petrified voice.

Bryan nodded, "It's because she's been infusing her blood into them, now that she has Kai… It's possible she can make the Savages immortal."

"You're joking…" Max breathed in pure shock, "And if she has an army of them…"

"I know what I did was wrong, but I have information we can use against her. I know where she is, I know how we can get Kai back before the eight years of Brooklyn's vision are up." Bryan explained as he once more locked eyes with Ray.

Ray considered the offer, angrier than what he had been before though kept his mouth closed and gripped his arms tighter. He wanted nothing from him, even after learning everything because nothing was going to fix the mess they all had created.

At the silence Bryan looked back to Tala who still refused to look at him, "Please."

Tala grit his teeth, holding Kain to his chest tighter as his shoulders began to shake. He hadn't said anything because he wasn't sure if there was anything to say to him. Bryan had been his closest friend all his life, had kept one another surviving when they lived on the streets before Boris picked them up and then in a way adopted the others under their care. At one point in his life he was sure he loved Bryan, like how he loved Kai and Ray, but had never dared pursued it.

Everything that was slowly coming to light cut in deep, a lot deeper than he was currently letting it show while all the times they could have done something sooner to stop this from happening played out in his mind even with the threat of Anette's army.

Maybe there really was nothing they could do before, but if that was the truth then what could they possibly do now? So Bryan was Fused but that was just one body replacing the one they lost, there were the others Ray had spoken of and contacting but it wasn't as impressive as an army of immortal Savages; or Kai and Black Dranzer.

No matter which way Tala currently looked, they were outnumbered and there wasn't a damn thing they could do about it.

"Just shut up…" Tala sighed as his eyes finally met Bryan's in the silence of the helicopter, locking on where the two of them could see the hurt within the other's souls.

Bryan nodded, sitting back and keeping his mouth closed like Tala had commanded. The others around them doing the same, Ray's tense shoulders barely relaxing as his pupils slowly dilated back. It was a long flight home.

* * *

_"Watch his head." He heard a familiar voice remind him, the picture he saw coming in and out of focus with a white haze to it. His arms were heavy with something in his hold, and there was a feeling in his chest that he couldn't ignore; happiness. _

_ The haze around the vision began to clear, everything coming back into focus as he was hit with the scenery of Ray's hospital room and the bundle in his arms that stared up at him with bright crimson eyes and a pale squishy face. _

_ His heart melted all over again, pulling the newborn to his chest and kissed the top of his head as he cradled his neck to support his head. _

_ "See, you're catching on." Ray's voice was still slightly distorted, but he knew it was him. The memory coming back to him slowly. _

_ "When can we take him home?" Kai asked, that was all he wanted to do now. Just go home with his son and the two loves of his life, enjoy the time they could have together before he was thrown back into the fray. _

_ "Should be able to leave by tonight, they said they wanted to run some more tests." Ray smiled at him, though he didn't know why he suddenly felt like he missed that smile when he had just seen it a few minutes ago. _

_ "Okay…" Kai nodded back, kissing his son's forehead again as he felt tears in his eyes without reason. _

_ Why was he so sad now when he was happy just a second ago? It didn't make sense, he was ready to have them both back home with him and Tala, so what was with the water works? _

_ Holding Kain closer to his chest the weight in his arms began to fade, as if Kain was slowly vanishing as Ray's voice became distorted again to the point it just sounded like broken radio static. His face that had been buried in the babes thin dark hair shot up, no longer standing in the hospital room as the scene began to dissolve around him like wet paint running down a wall. _

_ "Ray? Ray?!" He called though the moment the name passed his lips he put on a confused face at himself, did he know a Ray? _

_ The name was familiar but there was no face that came with it. _

_ As the hospital room's colors and walls continued to run and fade, a terrible pain hit him in the side of his head as a sudden heat began to stretch out from the center of his chest and down his back, arms, and legs. _

_ Fisting the slate in his hair with his hands as his teeth clenched, Kai's knees buckled slightly, the pain and heat reaching everywhere as he struggled against it, struggled to control it. _

_ "No, it's your turn to get up. I've been up with him all night, he's your son." That familiar, almost distant voice came back through his head, the pain beginning to ebb away slightly with it. _

_ He… He had a son? _

_ "Alright, Alright I'm up." He responded as if it were an automatic response._

_ Pushing himself off a bed he'd suddenly found himself laying on, the air feeling lighter around him as he was fitted with a small crying baby in his hold once more. _

_ "I can't get him to calm down, maybe you can." _

_ "What makes you think I can?" He questioned, rocking the babe in his arms in an attempt to soothe._

_ Was this his son? …When did he have a son? He never wanted children…_

_ Wet streaming crimson eyes looked into his confused and dry ones, the haze that had settled around him again leaving as they stared at one another as the pieces clicked back into place with a name coming in and out of his hearing; as if someone was whispering it too quietly in his ears until it echoed away and came back. _

_ Kain. _

_ Everything snapped back into place instantly, the earlier distortions coming back and fighting against the haze until it vanished completely and everything that had started to fade away smacked into him. With it a blinding white light hit him in the face, the heat fading again until he was left with the cold air biting into his skin. _

Anette frowned as Kai's eyes snapped open, having been putting him under for the past hour with little progress until they had began to pump him with more memory suppressors. At first it seemed to be working, his body had stopped fighting it and she was sure she had him until something went wrong. Now, all that progress they had made was for nothing as she could clearly see the hate in his eyes as he glared at her hard from where he was laid out and strapped on a metal table.

A clunky headpiece was fitted over Kai's head, wires sticking out and running into three computers along the walls of the new room they were in. An IV was shoved into the crease of his arm, feeding him the sedative that had knocked him out hours earlier but had been cut off for some time.

"He… He pulled out of it…"

Anette narrowed her eyes at the scientist that had the gall to inform her of what she could clearly see before her, a ball of fire formed in the palm of her hand. With the air quivering around her, the ball of fire shot out as she threw it at the computer the man was sitting in front of. It quickly bursting into flames and black smoke as the screen cracked and shorted out on itself, the flames staying on the monitor as the desk and wires were left untouched.

With a startled yelp the man jumped off his wooden stool, backing away as the flames grew in strength with sweat beading down his face.

"Then fix _it_!" Anette scorned.

"Y-yes ma'am." The three scientists all nodded quickly at her, the flames on the computer fading out to nothing but a small wisp of smoke rising into the air.

"It's a flawed system." Kai voice as Anette began to turn away from the room.

"Excuse me?" She asked, peering over her shoulder at him.

Kai scoffed at her, "What you're trying to do, suppress my memories of them. It won't work, it's flawed. Always has been since Boris came up with it."

"Oh?" Anette smirked as she turned back to face him, stepping up to where he was laid out on the metal bed.

"How so? They were able to suppress your memories of this place before."

"And it didn't last, it's a flawed system." Kai repeated with a dull look, "I got out of it before, this one won't be any different."

"Ah, but you see. It may not have lasted, but it lasted long enough." Anette cooed, "And that's all we really need, isn't it?"

"Can keep trying, but I doubt you'll get far." Kai taunted back.

"We'll see." Anette smirked as she turned away from him, "Until then, enjoy the show." She waved over her shoulder at him as she left, the door closing behind her.

Kai swallowed the bile he felt rising in his throat as he watched the door swing close, his eyes darting towards the men who worked for Anette as they scrambled around one another to start the system back up and put him under again. For the first time in his life, he felt a complete wash of dread sweep over him. He had no way out of this.

* * *

**Big shout out to Roy who gave me the idea of suppressing Kai's memories of the others in order for Anette's plans to work out in controlling Kai and Black. Wouldn't know what I'd do without you love, so thank you for that.  
See ya'll in 2020!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey everybody, so sorry for the long wait.  
As always, thank you everyone who has come along and stuck it out this long with me. I can't promise when the next update will be, fingers cross it won't be too long though.  
**

* * *

Flexing his fingers, for what seemed the tenth time in the last thirty minutes since being told they were arriving, Ray scratched into his pant legs as he took in a steady but heavy breath. Golden eyes fixated on his target, every hair on his body standing on end, yet there hadn't been even a dull roar of thunder outside for the past two hours.

Tala had glanced at him, mouth open to speak but had closed it seeing as how Ray hadn't even noticed anything but Bryan sitting across from them. If he could, he'd save him from Ray's wrath but currently had his hands still full of baby and was still torn on the inside about everything Bryan had disclosed to them hours ago.

Since then, the helicopter had gone silent, most if not all eyes had soon closed at some point and heads passed out on the shoulder to their left. Everyone was tired, scared, at the same time being just as restless as they were tired while starving and needing to heed the call of mother nature.

As the helicopter jarred slightly, the large metal beast coming down in a soft spin, the whirring of the blades overhead began to slow and die out to a dull buzz until silence befell everything.

Those that had still been asleep as they landed woke up, stretching their stiff legs and backs while rubbing their numb asses while they stood.

For the first time since Bryan had disclosed what he had been doing, what he had become, Ray's eyes shifted from him to Lee's who gave a simple but firm nod across from him near the back door once they had stood with the others.

Making sure his hold on Kain was firm, Tala rose from his seat beside Ray and shifted the now awake babe in his arms and made a pass to hand him over that Ray ignored as he swept past him along with the others following closely behind Lee.

Tala let out a breath, having no choice but to follow as he rearranged Kain to his hip and brought up the rear.

The silence that had plagued them all inside the helicopter followed them outside into the slight muggy air and morning mist, the sun only just beginning to come over the peaks of the mountains and trees the encaged Ray's village.

Having to land in a field off the main paths and roadways, they congregated around one another as beaten up green and tan military trucks rolled up through the grassy field towards them.

Lee was the first to move out of the crowd, breaking off and going to where the drivers of the trucks were and began listing off commands left and right that were more barked out than spoken. The drivers each responding to him in their own barks, yet their tones weren't as harsh or held any kind of commanding undertone like his did.

With a quick wave for the others to come join him, they all filed and piled into the seats while the drivers and crew from the helicopter brought over their luggage and pushed everything into the bed of the trucks around Bryan and Spencer who couldn't be fit into a seat.

Pulling away from the field, the trucks took off at a slow and steady pace along the uneven ground and grass and dirt. The trucks jarring slightly as they bumped along till they made it to the main dirt path, not making the ride any smoother as the drivers pushed on the gas pedal and the trucks took off while kicking up dirt and pebbles out from under the tires.

"Kit, can you take him now?" Tala asked in a whisper as Kain began to whimper, either from the harsh rocking of the vehicle they were in, or because Tala had tightened his hold so he wouldn't drop him outside the opened space of where a door should have been. The ground whizzing past them in blending colors of green and rocky dirt, the wind whipping at their hair and stinging their eyes some.

Ray hadn't seemed to have heard him, despite sitting right next to him and with his heightened hearing. Though since they had climbed into the back of the truck, he'd been in a conversation with Lee who sat in the passenger seat who was talking back to him in quick and another barking tone in their native tongue. Whatever they had been discussing was going right over Tala's own head and through his own heightened hearing, curiosity killing him along with the strain of Kain in his arms.

After a few more hard bumps in the road, the trucks began to slow as they climbed a small hill where the village came into view in the distance. The trees having grown thicker around them, the mountains seemingly having gotten taller as they approached.

Taking a right from the main path they had traveled along, they came up to a round-about that was situated in the center of the village, larger buildings and smaller homes situated around it with more narrow and winding dirt paths spreading in different directions.

Pulling up to the largest building sitting on the edge of the dirt path, the trucks came to a jerking halt and the engines were cut off.

"Just wait here." Mariah whispered to Tyson, Hilary, and Max as she clambered out from the passenger seat of the second truck, the driver following after her to meet up with Lee and Ray in front of the trucks.

[We haven't had time to inform anyone, but we should have what we need for everyone to get settled somewhere.] Lee spoke in a hushed whisper to the other two huddled beside him.

[We can figure it out. I have room for at least Tyson, Hilary, and Makoto.] Mariah supplied just as quietly.

Lee gave a nod before his eyes turned to Ray, [If you give me a minute?]

Ray only nodded back, pulling his arms over his chest as it heaved with another heavy breath and his pupils quivered while his upper lip slowly curled back.

Lee gave him a knowing look, though didn't say a word as he took Mariah gently by the upper arm and tugged her along towards the building they had parked in front of. The two disappearing inside, leaving the others waiting in the trucks bewildered and confused as they shot each other questioning looks.

Passing Kain to Spencer behind him in the bed of the truck, Tala slipped out of the backseats and stepped up to where Ray continued to stand and appeared to be frozen with his attention on the wooden doors Mariah and Lee had slipped through.

Enough was enough, the whole ordeal was too much right now and he was getting sick of the cold shoulder like he wasn't there; like he wasn't just, if not more, affected by Bryan's betrayal.

With a soft tap on his shoulder, Ray whirled around. Gold clashing with icy-blue, his pupils dilating instantly as he stared at Tala's more hardened face that demanded an answer without him even uttering a word to him.

"They're just making sure everything is set up." He answered Tala's unspoken question, almost sheepishly as his shoulders fell forward at Tala's cold stare.

"Isn't Lee the Head Elder now?" Tala questioned, a red brow being quirked up.

"He is, but things still need to be run through a council." Ray explained as he rubbed at his arm, "It won't take long." He added, either to get Tala to back down or lessen his worries.

He knew what he had been doing, ignoring him, and he knew that he was also lying through his teeth at the moment. Though he couldn't very well tell him about what he was fixing to do, he'd deal with the fallout when they got there.

Tala gave him a skeptical look before a heavy sigh passed his lips, "Okay." Was all he got out in a slight mutter, pulling back his twin bangs from his face and into the rest of his red disheveled hair.

Ray shifted where he stood, by now he figured the lies and deceit would have stopped, but this was for the better; for all of them until he knew what to do with the rat amongst them.

He knew it'd hurt, especially Tala, and dwindle their ranks but he couldn't stand the sight of Bryan right now any more than he had been able to before.

With his mouth opening to speak again, with what he wasn't even sure, the doors Mariah and Lee had left through burst open and close to twenty men came marching out and down the steps towards the trucks.

An array of dark hair and yellow to gold colored eyes surrounding the truck Bryan was sitting in the bed of with a relaxed expression on his face. He had a feeling this was going to happen, just not so soon.

Holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture, he stood himself up and jumped out the bed of the truck on the dirt road, keeping his hands held up that were quickly grabbed and jerked behind his back.

Tala watched with his mouth falling open, Tyson and Max clambering to get up from their seats only to be stopped when the guards closed in around the sides of the truck to keep them there with guns at their sides and hands at the ready to draw if need be.

"Ray! What's going on?!" Tala demanded as he spun back around, taking in Ray's slit pupils again and bared fangs.

"Everyone just stay where you are." Lee barked as his men chained Bryan's arms behind his back and dragged him to where Lee stood on the last step.

His yellow eyes met Ray's and gave a firm nod, propelling Ray's feet to move him as he stomped up to where Bryan was with Tala hot on his heels yelling at him to let Bryan go. Every word he shouted passing through one ear and out the other.

When their eyes clashed, Ray's pupils only got thinner as he crowded into Bryan's space as close as he could with his chest heaving and his claws piercing the palms of his hands at his sides.

At the moment he couldn't even tell what Bryan's facial expression was, if he was even sorry for what he'd gone and done behind their backs or if he was rather pleased with all the attention being given to him or not.

Either way, it made Ray's blood boil and his arms shake with the pent up anger. With a loud crack that shook the ground, lightning flashed across the clear blue sky, making the others flinch and duck for cover while Hilary and Spencer pulled the children in their arms tighter to shield them.

The second the loud echoes died away, Ray's fist lifted and found its target that he had been itching to get at since everything had went down and the veil of lies had been lifted. The others watching all jumping where they sat, Tala gasping loudly as he grabbed at Ray's arm to stop him from striking again.

Bryan's head jerked back with the sound of bones crushing, blood spurting out quickly as the guards holding him shifted as his weight was thrown back. When his head came back down, his own chest heaving to breathe through his mouth, it was turned slightly in a small smirk as his blood trickled down onto his upper lip and into his mouth.

"I'll figure out what to do with you later. For now I want you out of my _sight_!" Ray hissed as a growl tore through his heaving chest, not moving from where he stood and having the guards pull and tug Bryan around him and up the stairs past the others only to disappear through the doors Lee and Mariah had come from earlier.

Lee stood with his arms over his chest, taking in the others still sat in the trucks before back to Ray who had jerked his arm out from Tala's shaking hold.

"When you're ready." Was all Lee said as he turned on his heel, heading back into the building while Mariah broke away and went to the others at the trucks.

Ray moved to step with him, his shoulder getting caught and was brought back in a slight jerk as Tala jumped in front of him quickly to block his path. His icy blue eyes looking wet even with his face going hard again.

"What is going on?!" He stressed out angrily and confused.

Ray let out a small sigh, pulling his bangs back from his face before letting his throbbing hand flop down to his side.

"Mariah will take you to our house, I won't be gone long."

"That doesn't answer me!" Tala yelled, gearing up for more when Ray put a hand to his pale cheek.

"Just keep an eye on Kain for me, I won't be gone long." He repeated in a calmer tone, letting his thumb brush Tala's cheek before stepping around him and walking up the stairs without looking back.

Tala blinked at the back of Ray's head, his tears rolling down his face as he was more lost and confused than he had ever been.

To him it felt they were falling apart, had been falling apart long before Kai was even taken from them, but with the truth being set free he had held out some kind of hope that things would have slowly mended back together. Now, he wasn't even sure if they could, he hardly recognized the man he loved right now and he didn't completely understand why.

* * *

_**Three Years Ago, January 5th.**_

_Ray's foot tapped the snow covered concrete beneath his feet, his leg nervously twitching as he watched as cars upon cars pulled up and collect whoever was waiting on the side of the road with their luggage by their feet before moving along once they had been picked up._

_He'd only just arrived in Russia a mere forty minutes ago, his nerves working overtime as he played out the last month in his head. All the times he and Kai had been able to meet up for either lunch or dinner once his business deals had been squared away. The older male having left Japan two weeks ago, leaving Ray behind to figure out just what the hell he was doing with his life and before he could stop it he had a ticket and his bags were packed to move._

_The BBA headquarters were still being developed in Moscow but were ready enough that he could go after his last trials through the Fusion process._

_Those last few runs through the tubes had been the worst, but he was slowly coming out of the effects of it all. He was gaining an appetite again, his senses weren't riding in overdrive as much as they had been before, yet he was left to wear his dark sunglasses for just a bit longer._

_As his foot continued its nervous dance, the snow it had been pelting down into having melted and near enough turned into slosh under him, his eyes shifted to the side of the road as red-orange hair passed by him as a sleek black car rolled up alongside the sidewalk._

_His heart began to beat fast, even more so when Brooklyn turned over his shoulder, his teal eyes hidden behind his own pair of sunglasses yet his fair lips were upturned in, what Ray hoped, was a reassuring smile just before he slipped into the passenger seat and was off with the rest of the afternoon traffic._

_Even with the Fusion process having been completed, Brooklyn had come to train him and be beside him once the BBA got its footing. They'd be working beside each other now more closely, and in a way it had been a weight off Ray's shoulders to have someone he knew there with him through it all._

_Max was being positioned to come over as well once things back in Japan slowed down and the rest of the teams went through the Fusion process. Lee was staying back in Japan while Mariah and the other White Tigers were being shipped over for their turn through the tanks in a months' time._

_So far everything on their end had been going smoothly, they were taking the right steps forward in protecting the world from the threat Brooklyn had seen, yet at the same time Ray felt as though he was taking five major steps back._

_It probably wasn't the smartest thing to ever do; throwing himself into a relationship with not just Kai but Kai's lover as well while he was preparing to become a human weapon- __**had**__ become a human weapon- but now it was too late and even more so when a white car pulled up on the side of the road where he was sitting and the window was rolled down to reveal red hair and icy blue eyes._

_Ray's heart kicked up even harder, having felt frozen to the cold bench before but not he felt like he really couldn't move._

_He hadn't been expecting Tala to be the one picking him up but there he was, with an almost wolfish grin on his lips that Ray remembered from the last time he had seen him some months ago when he allowed himself to be pulled into their web._

_"Sometime today Kit, or you'll freeze out there." Tala called in a melodious tone, his wolfish grin stretching across his face._

_Ray could only nod back stiffly, he was frozen to the bone already as it were despite his heavy thick coat and gloves._

_Taking up his bag from the ground he had left it when he sat down, the snow crunched under his shoes as he made his way up to the car and tossed his bag in the back before slipping into the passenger seat beside Tala and let out a content sigh as the warmth from the heater wrapped around his chilled body._

_"What, no hello kiss?" Tala chuckled, having already put the car into drive to follow the rest of the line of cars that had gathered whoever they were there for and took off away from the terminal._

_Ray's cheeks warmed, though it wasn't from the heat coming from the air vents as he shifted in his seat._

_This was a bad idea, what the hell had he been thinking?! He should have smacked himself long before this whole thing got out of hand the way it had gone, though that was far too late now._

_Tala chuckled at the silence, keeping his eyes forward as he guided the car through the ever growing traffic around them once they hit the highway._

_"So, bad news." Tala finally voiced as he lowered the volume to hos radio down, "It's just you and me for a few days, Kai's got this business deal he has to complete."_

_"Oh." Ray voiced back quietly, unable to stop himself from shifting in his seat again._

_That explained why Tala was picking him up at least, but how exactly were they supposed to behave around each other once they got to Kai's house when the one they both were in this for wasn't there?_

_"So, it's your choice for dinner. Can take you out, show you around, or stay in and get cozy by the fire." Tala near enough purred out in a seductive tone._

_Ray near enough choked on his spit as his skin pricked slightly, "Um, whatever you want." He squeaked out some, feeling his throat go slightly dry all of the sudden._

_What else was he supposed to say to that? Clearly Tala knew he was really only there for Kai, was he even sure if he and Tala could even have anything without Kai around?_

_The bigger question he kept asking himself and had been plaguing him since the start; did he even want to?_

* * *

**Present**

The moment he could smell Ray coming up the small path to the front doors, Tala was up off the armchair he had slumped into after putting Kain down for a nap, throwing himself at the front door just before Ray had the chance to open it and the moment they came face to face, Tala's eyes narrowed hard as his arms went around his chest and barricaded the doorway from letting Ray step inside.

They both could see the other exhausted, having been awake for almost 24 hours with little to no sleep. The stress that had piled and pulled down on their shoulders weighing them down, surprised they hadn't just collapsed yet from everything but desperately wanted to.

"Care to explain, now?!" Tala went off just as Ray's mouth went to open, only for it to close quickly.

"If you let me in." Ray answered in a tired sigh, running a hand through his bangs to pull them from his face.

Tala eyed him up and down, the dark circles under his eyes more prominent than Ray's on his pale skin, as he weighed up his options. Though figured he couldn't very well keep Ray outside all day, not when he needed to put his feet up and rest for not only his sake but the babies.

He moved to the side, letting Ray pass by him and shut the door after him before following him back into the living room to the right of the doorway. Watching Ray do what he had done once he could; just throw all his weight down onto the armchair to rest.

"I'm sorry, but it needed to be done." Ray finally spoke, though didn't look at Tala or in his direction as he stood to the side of the armchair beside him.

"If he's Fused then that gives us more numbers, even if it's just one more person." Tala argued, his tone dying down to not wake Kain down the hall.

"I get that, I do, but right now I want him there." Ray bit out as his hand flopped on the armrest from keeping the side of his head propped up, lulling it back along the chair's cushion to finally look at Tala beside him.

"He's the only one that can override this chip!" Tala huffed out as he pointed to the side of his head, "And he can't very well do that if he's locked up, now can he?!"

"I'm not keeping him there forever!" Ray snapped back to where both their voices were loud, "Why are you defending him?!" He demanded as the palm of his hand slapped the padded armrest.

"After what he's done, not just behind your back but everyone else's! I can't trust him and neither should you right now!"

Tala shifted where he stood, his arms constricting around himself as he stared down at Ray, his already frazzled mind trying to run through every scenario and comeback but quickly failed. He was too tired to fight with Ray, too tired to even stand like he had been, and still too heart broken about Bryan's betrayal to plead for him.

"Where did they take him then?" He settled on saying, his shoulders falling some as the fight in him died away.

"You're not going there." Ray answered as his eyes narrowed as if he was almost daring Tala to bite back.

Tala let out a hard sigh, rubbing at his face and shook his head. "Fine, whatever." He rolled his eyes and turned on his heel to go to bed, beyond done with everything around him.

He hadn't even had the chance to properly look around the house, that Mariah had said belonged to Ray, that was also fully furnished and stocked as if someone had still been living in it. All that he cared for was the bed that was calling his name and hoping that he didn't sleep ten years, even if that's what his body and mind was begging him to do.

Doing what Tala had done, now that he was left alone in the living room, Ray rubbed his temples with a tired sigh while leaning further back into the armchair. His entire body sore, his feet and ankles swollen to the point he wasn't sure if he could even get his shoes off them right now. On top of all that he was starving, but the thought of food made his stomach churn, yet he needed something not just for him but for the baby growing in his belly.

With a hard shove he was back on his feet, going across the hall to the small kitchen that was nothing in comparison to the one back at Kai's house but still brought on the familiar comforts of home.

Within the hour he had something made up for the three of them, the smells of the food cooking filling the house and bringing Tala back out from hiding away in the bedroom despite not having slept at all.

His stomach was too empty, head too full, and heart torn in two to do anything more than lay there and toss and turn several times as he stared at the walls and at one point the pillow case as he'd gone to burying his face in it.

"Can we stop this now?" He asked still as tiredly as before as he stood behind Ray's shoulder as the other went to plating their food.

Ray regarded him over his shoulder quietly, giving a small nod though didn't say anything back to him for the moment while going back to what he was doing.

Tala shifted around the small space to the fridge, hoping there was something cold to drink and his eyes grew as they took in the bottles of what he assumed was beer nestled along the shelves.

"Jesus, Kit." He chuckled, plucking one out of the twenty or so bottles from the rows that didn't have a label on any of them.

"Have at it, not like I can put them to use right now." Ray chuckled back with a small shake of his head, setting down the spoon he had used to dish out their dinner and plucked their full plates up off the counter to take them to the table.

As if he was hit over the head, Tala gave Ray a more proper look up and down with worried eyes. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine, just swollen feet and ankles again. Threw up after I started cooking, but it's passed now." He waved off Tala's concern as he laid out their plates, "I'll go get Kain, sit down and eat." He ordered and walked away before Tala could stop him.

Tala did as he was told, making himself comfortable on one of the wooden chairs around the table in front of a plate as he twisted off the metal cap from the bottle dark bottle and took a quick sip of it where it burned his throat and left him coughing slightly till the burn slowly settled.

"What is this?!" He sputtered as Ray came back with Kain on his hip, the babe looking wide awake and well rested.

Ray smirked a little as he settled Kain into his highchair at the table between them, "Snake wine. Kevin's family makes it around here. Just go easy on it."

Tala made a face as he looked at the bottle before looking down the neck of it, "Is there an actual snake in here?"

"In the main bottles, yeah, when I got those they just poured some into empty bottles for me though." Ray explained as he sat himself down beside Kain, cutting up the noodles on his own plate and passing them off to his son to eat.

Tala made a face as he set the bottle down and moved it away from himself and his plate, the taste of the drink lingering on his tongue.

"We'll need to go to the market for some things, like vegetables and milk and bread. Can do that tomorrow though." Ray voiced just to keep the silence at bay, feeding more cut up noodles to Kain as he had yet to take a bite of food for himself.

"We've already contacted the others in America and Japan, they'll be arriving within the coming weeks. They're not moving all at once, for safety reasons, but we might have some others living with us until we know where to place everyone." He continued, Tala sitting back and eating quietly while he listened and taking note that Ray still hadn't eaten a single thing off his own plate yet.

"Okay…"

"There's going to be a council meeting tomorrow night, you'll be on your own with Kain for a few hours." Ray continued over him, not even realizing Tala was watching him so intently now as he went on autopilot.

"Do you ever stop?" Tala asked in a gentle voice, unable to take it anymore as Ray scooped up more food and once again missed his own mouth as he focused on feeding Kain instead.

Ray blinked at him a little, hand hovering with the fork held between his fingers as he gave Tala a questioning look.

Tala sighed with a small shake of his head, "You need to eat too, Kit."

"I will."

"Then eat." Tala said as he pointed at Ray's plate with his own fork between his fingers, his eyes going hard in case Ray wanted to put up a fight about it.

Ray let out his own sigh, stabbing his food almost childishly and popped the noodles in his mouth all the while holding Tala's challenging eyes with his own.

Tala smiled back at him equally as childish as Ray was being, "That's better."

Ray rolled his eyes, getting some more though this time the fork went into Kain's mouth again. Tala bit his tongue, it wasn't really worth another argument over and this time something so small as eating.

A small light bulb went over his head, quickly cutting up his own noodles and stabbing them with his fork and brought his up in time with Ray's to Kain's mouth.

The babe looked curiously between the two of them and the offering being given to him on both sides, Ray's eyes gone slightly wide at Tala though quickly narrowed some while Tala's lips curled into his wolfish grin.

Kain didn't care, taking a bite from Tala's fork first before turning to Ray's and biting down on that next with his cheeks still stuffed.

"Eat." Tala huffed at Ray again, making his point more clear as he offered more of his food to Kain once he'd gotten what had been in his mouth down.

"You're insufferable sometimes." Ray sighed, this time actually getting to his plate fully while Tala fed Kain between them.

"Took you this long to notice?" Tala chirped back, "Been with me three years, thought you'd have caught on by now."

Ray snorted back in response, "Pretty sure I caught on the first week of being with the two of you."

"Really? Kind of hard to do when you kept yourself holed in your room unless Kai was home." Tala snorted back, though his words cut a little he didn't mean them to be taken that way.

Luckily, Ray didn't take any offense to them as a small smile stretched along his own face. "Not like that ever stopped you from coming into my room anyways to bother me."

Tala smiled back at him, "Are you really going to complain right now?"

"Kind of. I was tired from training all the time, was trying to sleep and here you come waltzing in to wake me up so we could do something."

"I was trying to get you warmed up to me." Tala defended with a laugh coming out of his chest, "And it worked, didn't it?"

Ray's smile never faltered as he nodded back, "A little too well." He admitted with his own small laugh.

"What can I say, I'm pretty damn irresistible."

Ray shook his head as he laughed harder, "What can I say, you're also a pain in my ass." He quipped back playfully.

"You're welcome." Tala winked at him, his smile now stretched from ear to ear along his face.

"I wasn't really meaning like _that_." Ray huffed a laugh.

"Oh, I know. Even still though. You're welcome."

"Won't be thanking you when I have to give birth." Ray shot back quickly, watching Tala's smile falter slightly.

"Being here, how is that going to happen this time? I mean, I can see this place is a bit more modern than what you and Kai have told me before, but do they have a way to help you?" Tala asked as his eyes went up and down Ray's person, even if he didn't have a good view of his stomach.

"Of course, happens all the time around here. I'll be fine, and we still have close to seven months till they're here anyways." Ray quickly explained, not liking the way Tala's concern kicked in and wanted to keep the lighter atmosphere about them for as long as he could.

"Oh… Right. Of course." Tala chuckled nervously some, "Was just making sure."

"It'll be fine, when the time comes." Ray comforted, "Until then, we have to put our focus on other things."

With that Tala's mood dropped down, his focus going to his plate as he twisted some noodles around the end of his fork mindlessly.

"What're the plans, exactly?"

Ray let out a small breath, sitting back more into his chair as he glanced over at Kain beside him who looked back. Ray smiled at him though it fell quickly.

"I'm not sure yet, that's what the meeting is for tomorrow night." He explained as he turned his attention back on Tala.

"Then shouldn't I be there?" Tala asked as their eyes met.

"It's not really my call, not here." Ray answered in a solemn tone.

Yes, Tala had every right to be there but it was up to Lee now on who was allowed in and out of the meeting hall. The moment they all stepped off that helicopter he was the one taking a step back. Lee was the Head Elder while he was nothing more than just the Director of the BBA, at least what was left of it, and now Lee called the shots instead of him.

"But, you're still Director. Aren't you?" Tala pressed, "And this kind of concerns your baby daddy."

Ray nodded some, "I am, but that's also why Lee is taking the helm aside from being Head Elder. Because it does concern Kai and he fears my judgement will sway based on that. Which is also why he may not let you come tomorrow."

"Do you have an idea of what he plans then?"

Ray shook his head, "We didn't discuss much, before I came home, just set up the time and who was all going to be there."

"So, in a way we're fucked if they decide to do nothing."

Ray shrugged his shoulders, "It's possible. Doesn't mean I won't put up a fight though. But now Lee is the final decision maker here. If he says we do nothing, then we do nothing. If he says we wait the eight years, then we wait." He answered in a sigh.

Tala only nodded back, the smile he once wore now completely gone as he sat there and took in Ray's words and the heaviness of the situation now. He didn't want to wait those eight years, but if they weren't being given a choice then there wasn't much they could do. The only real option he saw was having Bryan override the chip and go with their plan of trying to unlock all of Wolborg's powers in him, add to their numbers and if need be go off and do it themselves with or without the others.

"How long are they keeping Bryan on lockdown then?"

"Until I say he can be a free man again. That's one thing Lee has given to me to decide on." Ray answered as his muscles tensed, not wanting to go back onto the topic of the rat amongst them. Though part of him knew Tala would bring him up again, and again, and again until Bryan was set free.

He understood why, deep down not liking it anymore than Tala did at the moment, but felt it was better given all they knew. He didn't trust Bryan, didn't think he ever would, and despite his pleas for them all to believe him that he was on their side, Ray didn't want to chance it.

Bryan, right now, was as dangerous as Anette was and he wasn't going to risk anyone else.

"If you want to see him, I'll take you to him tomorrow before the meeting." He offered.

"Okay…" Tala nodded back, not sure if that was exactly what he wanted right now but held onto the offer given to him just in case it was something he wanted.

"Should get some sleep. I'm going to give him a bath and put him back down." Ray said as the silence began to creep back over them, not giving Tala time to respond as he was already up out of his chair and collecting Kain out of the highchair.

Tala didn't say anything as he watched Ray leave with Kain on his hip, soon enough hearing the shower kick on down the hall but still didn't move an inch from his spot at the table while his mind began to run around in circles again at the entire mess they'd all been thrown into and trying to find a way out of it before the eight years were up and heaven only knew what was happening to Kai right now while they waited and came up with a plan.


	21. Chapter 21

**Do apologize for such a long wait, please know that I'm trying my best right now to get things working again. Been a rough new year, as it has been for most of us, so all I ask is just a bit of patience and fingers crossed things'll start coming out quicker for ya'll.**

**Anyways, short and sweet today. Surprised anything actually came out at all in honestly but this is the best I can do ya'll right now.  
**

* * *

Rusty and squealing hinges echoed around the damp and darkened room, the bit of light that had seeped through when the door had been edged open getting quickly snuffed out once the heavy door was closed again. Only for a bright flash of light to fill the room more properly, causing Bryan to flinch and shut his tired eyes from the cot he'd been sleeping on.

Keeping his back against the door, Ray pulled his arms around himself as Tala stepped up to the cell bars that separated them and Bryan. Tala putting both hands to the cold metal, biting into his lower lip some as he and Bryan just stared at one another from opposite ends.

Like he'd promised, Ray was letting Tala have his time with him, but it wasn't without worry and concern. Nor did it stop the anger he felt rising in him even with Bryan behind bars, or the welt he could see on the side of his face where he'd punched him the day before.

Since they woke up that morning, it was all Ray had on his mind while trying to make it as painless as possible for all involved. Mariah was left back at the house with Kain for the time being, and even if Tala had wanted to come and see Bryan he currently had no words for him now they were face to face like this.

As if he couldn't keep his own weight up, Tala slid down to the floor while keeping his hold on the bars of Bryan's cell till he was on the cold ground. His head slowly moving side to side, but still no words came out of him as he sat there.

Inside the cell, Bryan swallowed hard but remained where he sat on the small cot as he watched Tala collapse to the floor. Not even able to form his own words at the moment for him, having already said all he really needed to back on the helicopter. Part of him was expecting a verbal lashing from Tala, for him to hit the iron bars or just snap in general. He hadn't expected him to do what he did, and the silence that encompassed them was more than he could bear.

"I'm sorry…" He finally breathed out, hanging his head.

Tala shook his own back again, sorry didn't fix any of this and they all knew that. What he wanted from this exactly, he wasn't even sure now himself. Even if he'd gone to begging and pleading with Ray that morning to let him come in and see Bryan, it was starting to slowly sink in that this had been a bad decision.

He couldn't handle looking the best friend he'd known all his life behind those bars like this, not when it just brought on the memories of their times back in the Abbey. Not when his best friend had the ways and means to keep Kai and everyone else from getting caught up in the shit storm that had now grown too big they couldn't contain it anymore.

"I can still help." Bryan chanced to speak again, lifting his head a little and focused only on Tala as if Ray wasn't there at all.

"Let me out, let me reset that chip and help you." He near enough begged.

Ray's mouth opened as his muscles tensed, though Tala was up on his feet quickly as he slammed the palm of his hand against the iron bars.

"You had your chance to help!" He screamed out at him, "You had every chance available to you, and look where you got yourself!"

"I told you why I couldn't say anything, what more do you want from me?" Bryan argued back at him, not looking fazed by Tala's outburst. Deep down he knew it had only been a matter of time before he exploded, not that Bryan blamed him for it either.

Tala's mouth shut on him quickly, grinding his teeth as his own muscles began to tighten. Wrapping his fingers around the bars as he began to shake, eyes narrowing as they locked onto Bryan between the bars.

There really wasn't anything Bryan could do to make this right, so what did he want from him? He wasn't even sure now, once more realizing this had been a mistake to even come at all.

Jerking himself away from the cell with a growl, Tala pivoted on his heels as Ray stepped away from the door and let him through. The rusty hinges squealing again as Tala threw the heavy door open, only for it to slam shut behind him.

Once he was gone, Bryan ran a hand down his face with an audible sigh. Eyes darting up to Ray as he came closer to the call but didn't do what Tala had and continued to stand with his arms around himself.

"What?" He spat out, letting his hand drop into his lap.

Ray scoffed at the tone he was getting, though remained standing where he was as they stared one another down.

A growl tore through Bryan's throat, "What? You come to gloat or something? The hell you want?!" He snapped.

"Nothing." Ray answered in a neutral tone, fighting down the smirk.

"Then get the hell out, unless you plan on just letting me go."

"And why would I do that?" Ray questioned in his neutral tone, head tilting slightly at the other.

Another growl tore out of Bryan's throat as he snarled at Ray, though for whatever reason continued to keep their eyes locked.

"Tell me about this chip, what can we do to override it." Ray finally spoke.

"_You_ can't. Only I can." Bryan scoffed back, "And it's going to be pretty damn hard for me to do anything in here." He gestured to the cell he was stuck in.

"So, let me go. Otherwise, you'll all just be sitting ducks waiting for the end to come and bite you in the ass."

"As if it already hasn't done that." Ray rolled his eyes, "All thanks to you, too."

"I did what I thought was right! I added to your numbers, if anything, but you can't blame me for her taking Kai!" Bryan shouted back, his fist slamming into the cot he was sitting on.

"I didn't know that was her goal, or Kain, but it's too late now. So instead of having this pissing contest with me, why don't you do something about it. _Director_." He sneered out the name.

"And that's exactly what I've been trying to do! Yet here you are breaching my database and putting everyone we know in danger! Don't tell me it was just to help our numbers; you did this for yourself and only for yourself! Everyone from the Abbey but you had been Fused, and you just couldn't handle that. Could you?" Ray bit back with his own sneer, feeling a small stab of victory as Bryan jerked his head away from him as if he hit the nail on the head.

"Now, we're fixing to lose more than just Kai. You realize that, right?!" His voice rose, it echoing off the damp walls around them.

Bryan's head snapped back towards him, jumping off the cot and stomping towards the bars with his fists clenched at his sides.

"You think you're the only one whose lost things during this? I lost my best friend to this long before you were even going and sticking your dick up his ass! So don't stand there and act like you've lost anything here!" He roared out in Ray's face, the bars the only things keeping them separated.

"You think you're one of us, just because you went through it too, but you're far from anything like us. You think you know them, tsch, you barely know the surface of who they are." He mocked, liking the way Ray's pupils slit and could hear the crack of thunder roaring outside.

With all the hair standing on Ray's body, his own teeth grinding, he tore himself away from the cell and back for the door. There wasn't a point in keeping this going any longer, he'd let Bryan sit in there for as long as he wanted and not feel a damn bit of guilt for it.

"In the end." Bryan started in a more casual tone, halting Ray the moment he clasped the handle to the heavy door to leave.

"You're really no better than her or Boris, with your little army that you've gone and built up over the years here. But, you go ahead and keep telling yourself that you're different. If it helps you sleep at night and all, even when your hands are just as soaked in as much blood as theirs."

Something snapped in Ray the moment Bryan had finished talking, an almost pained cry coming out of him as his hand came off the handle and he spun around. The hairs on his body standing up higher to the point they almost hurt, while the room filled with the sounds of loud cracking.

Before either of them could blink, several thin bolts of green lightning shot through Ray's hand and wrapped around the bars of the cell after tearing against the stone ground. The metal sparking as the lightning bounced around it, the cracking getting louder as it began to smoke and forced Bryan to jump away from the bars with his eyes blown open wide.

Panting for air, his own eyes wide, Ray lowered his arm that tingled and burned down to his side as his muscles twitched. Watching the thin bolts of green lightning spark between the bars some more before they slowly faded out with a hiss, the ground marred by what looked like a burn mark from where it had hit. Though he had no words for what had just happened, nor did he understand why it had.

Trying to gather himself up as he felt his head getting light, he turned back for the door and used his opposite hand to grab the handle and let himself out. Bryan reduced to a stunned silence, watching him almost trip out of the room before the door slammed behind him, noticing the small pool of blood on the ground beside where Ray had been standing until the lights went back out and threw the room into pitch black darkness.

Leaning against the wall with his shoulder to keep himself from falling face first onto the stone flooring, Ray panted heavier as if he couldn't breathe. His vision beginning to go blurry as his feet started to drag as he kept pushing to go forward. His stomach began to cramp, making him hiss and pause against the wall with his back as he put a hand to it and tried to apply some type of pressure against it to make it stop.

The moment he felt something wet seep through his shirt he pulled his hand away, turning it over and weakly staring at the skin all along his palm that had split open as each cut steadily oozed blood around the bigger slit in the center of his hand that was bleeding faster and pooling inside itself.

"Shit…" He hissed again at it, shoving his back off the wall and taking a step forward only for his knees to buckle out from under him where his body smacked into the hard ground with a sickening thud as his skull cracked against it and everything went dark and numb.

* * *

Jolting awake, frightened, and bleary crimson eyes frantically bounced around as they tried to focus on what was around him while his brain tried to piece together the jigsaw of where he was and why.

Having been startled awake by the jab of a needle in his arm, his heavy head lulled to the right of him where familiar brown hair and round glasses greeted him as the man in the lab coat injected him with whatever was in the vial through the crease in his arm.

"C-Chief?" Kai asked in a shaky voice through the mask that had been fitted over his mouth and nose.

"Shhh." Kenny shushed, carefully pulling the needle out of Kai's skin as tiny droplets of blood seeped out of the even tinier hole he'd made from the needle point only for the hole to close itself up and stop the flow of blood.

"This is going to help with the pain, okay?" Kenny whispered to him, though refused to look at him as he kept his head down.

"I don't… I thought she killed you…" Kai managed to get out as all he could do was stare beside him where Kenny stood next to the metal table he'd been strapped to.

But he couldn't even remember why he thought she killed him, or what prompted him to even say such a thing. Had Kenny been in danger?

Kenny shook his head slowly at him, "I'm sorry… I couldn't stop her from getting Kain…"

"He's safe." Kai said quickly, though part of him wondered why he'd gone and said that at all again.

Who was Kain? And why did he feel a sense of relief that he was safe even if he didn't know him? It was as if there was a fog in his head, making it heavy and weighed down while only small bits and pieces of who he was dully shone through. Which seemed even more odd since he recognized Kenny right away, but this Kain person… There wasn't a face to go with the name.

"What is she having you do?" Kai asked quietly since Kenny had been whispering to him.

Kenny shook his head again, "Not now. I'll have to tell you another time, but we're fixing to put you back under. Okay?"

"Back under?" Kai rose a brow, the fog only getting denser in his head.

What the hell was going on?!

This time Kenny nodded, looking up at him finally with a wobbly frown on his face. "I'm really sorry about this, Kai. Please forgive me…" He choked out.

Kai just stared at him, confusion written all over his face and even more so when Kenny hurriedly took his leave away from him.

Pointlessly he jerked at the restraints holding his wrists and ankles down, the metal rattling but not budging an inch even when he started to thrash harder.

"I wouldn't do that; you'll just tire yourself out." A sickeningly sweet, and familiar voice chided from across the room.

Kai's eyes snapped up as his thrashing died down, locking onto another set of crimson eyes that seemed to be smirking back at him even if the woman's face remained placid.

Through all the fog that had made itself home in his head, he recognized her and hated her with every fiber of his being.

"Ready for another round?" Anette cooed in that same sweet tone of hers.

"What're you doing to me?" Kai demanded in a growl, his fists clenching against the metal of the table he was laying on.

"Oh? You don't remember?" Anette seemed to mock, "That's good." She smiled at him, and it sent an uncomfortable chill to run down his spine.

It was all too fuzzy, everything seemed to be, so no he didn't remember why he was there. All he remembered was her, a few off and on faces with names but they didn't seem to connect to the faces he kept picturing the way he felt they needed to.

There were even smaller bits and pieces of who he was. Sure, he knew his name but beyond that he wasn't even sure who he really was. Was he the CEO of a giant mega-corporation, or was he some kind of government spy that killed people?

There were two separate pieces and neither wanted to align right in his head, and as far back as he could reach there was another piece that he could hardly see much less grab hold to try and place together with the rest of the broken up jigsaw.

"Well then…" Anette's voice slithered into his ears again, "Nighty night, Kai."

The mask that was on his face began to fog up, forcing him to breathe in whatever it was without a way to stop it. He thrashed around again against his restraints, making the IV in his other arm pull and sting while his already cloudy and heavy head began to get even more so until the thrashing died back down, and he looked to be asleep.

* * *

With a dull pain throbbing in the side of his head, Ray carefully pushed himself to sit up on the bed he suddenly found himself laying on. Blinking a little to get his vision clear, taking in the bedroom of his home back in the village as the events of what transpired came back to him.

Quickly he pulled his hand up to inspect it, only to find it having been wrapped with bandages that had soaked up some of the blood and dried on the cloth.

"Don't move too fast."

Though even with the warning, Ray's head snapped around to face Tala coming into the room with a plate of food and a glass of water for him.

"What happened?" Ray asked him as he watched Tala step around the bed, setting what he'd been carrying onto the side table by the bed before sitting down beside him.

"We found you knocked out cold back at the prison, your hand was bleeding, and all cut up. You got a bit of a good cut on your head too, but Spence came in and patched you up." Tala explained, his worried blue eyes scanning over Ray as if he was expecting to see something else wrong with him.

"Why don't you tell _me_ what happened, hm?" He urged.

Bryan hadn't said a word to anybody who had come in and asked him, so they were left with grasping at straws as to what happened for them to have found Ray passed out in the hall bleeding.

"I…" Ray stuttered as he closed his bandaged hand and stared at it as if he was having a hard time trying to remember exactly what had happened, though the memory was clear as day as to what had happened but was still left with wondering how it even happened to begin with.

"I can harness his powers now…" He explained in a whisper, as if he was afraid of saying it out loud.

"You mean… You shot lightning out of your hand?" Tala pressed, his eyes going from concerned to wide while Ray nodded beside him.

"Do you have an idea why? You've had him for years now, why now?!"

"I don't know…" Ray shook his head back, "I just can." He shrugged his shoulders a little.

In truth he really didn't know why this was suddenly happening, it never had before and if he was being completely honest he was almost terrified of it happening.

"What if… What if I'm starting to lose control?" He asked in another whisper as his voice wobbled, "What if I'm going to go Savage?"

Tala jolted slightly where he sat, throwing his arm around Ray's shoulders, and brought him up to his side where he put his chin down on the top of Ray's head.

"No, that's not gonna happen. Okay? You're going to be fine. Once everyone else gets here and Emily can set up a lab we'll get you tested, get it checked out. I'm sure it's nothing, you're just a late bloomer is all." He tried to comfort, though felt like a block of ice had slipped down his throat as he began to worry himself.

What if Ray was fixing to lose control? The possibility had always been there, for anyone who went through the Fusion process. Kai had lost control back in Orlando because of Black Dranzer, along with the intensity of the situation they had been thrown into.

For Ray, although he didn't have an extra bitbeast fused into him, he'd been stressed and running on empty for days now. At this point in time, it'd be easy for Ray to simply lose control going the way he was right now. And Tala didn't have a clue on how to stop it from happening, or even if he could.

"It's going to be okay… Alright? I promise." Tala soothed, running his hands down through Ray's hair and back as he held him a bit tighter.

He couldn't lose both of them, not like this, he didn't know what he'd do if he did.


	22. Chapter 22

**Heyyyyyyyy, long time no see, right? Sorry for such a long delay, life and all that has kind of gotten in the way and all that good stuff. But here we are, finally, and hope to not leave ya'll hanging as long for the next one. This one kind of bounces a little, hopefully not too much, see how it goes though.**

**As always, thank you all for the reviews, they mean the world to me. Truly. And hope ya'll are doing well through this crazy and messed up year.**

**Till next time. **

* * *

**4 Months Later:**

Waddling his way from Kain's bedroom, Ray eased himself down onto the couch in the living room that was situated under the window. Holding the bottom of his now seven month stomach as he climbed onto the couch to lay down, needing to get off his feet for the time being as his ankles had swelled throughout the day and was glad that his feisty one-year-old was finally down for a nap.

Granted it'd only been two months since Kain turned one, he'd learned how to walk at ten months and now with full mobility, the tot was sure to keep Ray and Tala on their toes at all times. The world was a big place to them and a thousand times bigger to such a little person, and he wanted to explore it _all_.

Not only was he becoming more of a handful, Ray's fears of what he inevitably had done to him in utero was finally coming to light. Although they knew he could heal (like his father), once the others from the American and Japanese BBA branches arrived three months back and had set up a decent enough lab they could run their tests, it was concluded that Kain did indeed harbor more powers than just the ability to heal.

The only solace Ray and Tala were given about it, per Emily's words, was that Kain wouldn't come into his full powers till he hit puberty. What that meant in the long run, whether he'd favor Dranzer's power over Driger's or vice versa they weren't sure yet, and after a runaround and long night of back and forth back in their home, Ray finally gave up the fight with Tala about what to do with the news and agreed there was absolutely nothing they could do.

Since then, as the days turned into weeks and the weeks began to bleed into months and Ray's stomach consequently got bigger, he was pretty much benched now being as far along as he was. Tala taking over in his stead when Lee needed him for a briefing to go over something with the progress their teams were making with the Reversal Process, which had to be built up from scratch now since they lost everything after the headquarters in Russia was brought to the ground.

When they all arrived to an already cramped village, it became an even tighter fit but somehow Lee made it work out. Everyone had a place to stay, food on their tables, and if it weren't for the daily newscasts about what was happening on the outside no one really would have bat an eye about it all since nothing on the inside had changed all that much to their day to day lives.

Lee's duty was and had always been to put his people first and that was what he had managed to accomplish while juggling and pulling in Ray's people beside his own. They were safer that way, they needed them in the long run, and even if it had been a hard adjustment to some over the course of the months that had passed things eased out for them all.

Tyson and Hilary and Makoto had their own home now, which was just a short hop skip and a jump from Ray's own. Mariah still had her own place around the bend and another block away, being kind enough to let Salima and her two kids to live with her for the time being as well. Max and Spencer had been boarded up in a home together, and when Bryan was finally released from jail after a two month stay he too moved in with his ex-teammate and Max while still being heavily watched. Gary wasn't too far away either with his still ever growing family, and Lee was where he always was.

Despite Ray and even Judy's best efforts neither of them could contact anyone from the old European team. Though by now, as the months had progressed and the attacks in Russia had only gotten worse since they had to flee, they were sure that those who were left behind saw the damage and knew what was going on. Why they weren't returning their calls neither knew, but for now there was nothing they could do about it.

Their numbers had grown, that's all they cared about, their base of operations wasn't nearly what it was or had been or could have been, but it was better than nothing, and those that were most important to him were where he wanted and needed them.

All but one…

It was hard having to wake up without knowing what had happened to Kai or where Anette had taken him or what she was doing to him after all this time. It'd been four months, his birthday had passed not even a week ago, and not only that he'd gone and missed his son's first birthday because of this entire mess.

If it wasn't Ray finding himself being held in the middle of the night by Tala drying his tears through a bad bout of hormones and general anxiety and fear, it was him holding Tala up and doing the same exact thing for him. Both promising and swearing to each other that they'd find Kai, bring him back, but when the sun rose on another day those sweet promises were always broken as they still weren't a step closer to answers or a solution.

With the Savages that Anette had been releasing now, the same ones that had flooded the streets of Russia and wouldn't go down with a simple bullet between the eye, they were only increasing in number by the day. The newscasts they all sat around and listened to only getting more harrowing and hard to finish. Innocent bystanders were being slaughtered all for her selfish and sadistic plan, while they sat in hiding and awaiting for the right time to strike, but at this point they weren't even sure when that was now.

Brooklyn's vision had been a warning, but eight years of this was a long time and it was only going to get worse.

Lee worked tirelessly with the others on plans day in and day out, trying to find a solution that wouldn't just end up with them all slaughtered too, but even he was nearing the end of his rope and the stress was starting to weigh down onto him from keeping his people afloat on top of the new role he'd gone and taken over for Ray while he was benched.

Tala did what he could to help lighten the load, but even he was beginning to get stretched too thin between home life and helping Bryan set up what they needed to override the chip Boris had implanted into his head years ago. It wasn't the main solution, but it was one solution to a problem that he hoped would somehow give them an upper hand somewhere if he could harness Wolborg's powers fully.

Yet so far, it was a slow process even with Emily's extra help when she could get in with them amid her own work. And as promised, the second she'd arrived and had set up an ample lab Tala had Ray tested to make sure he wasn't going Savage. As much of a relief to it was for all of them that he wasn't, it was still a shock and brain scratcher for why now his powers were suddenly manifesting the way they were and rapidly so.

Emily did her best to conclude that with the added stress, while carrying another child that would more than likely have powers themselves given Tala and Ray's DNA, it triggered something inside him that sped the process along to where he could harness Driger's powers now at his fingertips. Not having a better explanation for it themselves, Ray and Tala were left with accepting that as one weight of many had lifted from their shoulders.

Even with that weight off, it did nothing to stop the slight fear that Ray still harbored over it all. He never had the proper training for harnessing Driger's powers like this, and the last time he did he passed out and was hurt by it himself. He didn't know how to control it, wasn't even sure if he _could_ control it, and his last mentor was gone just like Kai was. And currently in his state he couldn't train even if he wanted to, once more being reminded what a failure of a leader he truly was.

As he laid there, curled up on the couch where he had been for the last hour and getting lost in his thoughts of failure and problems with his feet propped up over some pillows, he breathed through his teeth heavily as his back muscles tensed and a wave of pain coursed through his stomach, making it tighten before it slowly eased up on him.

He didn't really pay it much mind though; he'd been experiencing Braxton Hicks for a few days now which wasn't uncommon with how far along he was. Was just his body's way of getting ready for actual labor, which he still had two months left till, was nothing to worry about.

Relaxing and sinking into the cushions some more, trying to get a little nap in while Kain was down, another contraction hit him. This time stronger and longer, making him shift and hiss out harder and deeper breaths till it faded.

Maybe there was something to worry about…

Reaching for his phone in his back pocket, he went to Tala's number quickly to get him home just in case he needed him. Though it was probably really nothing.

He still dialed him up anyways, just to see how late he would be in coming home since he was back at the lab with Bryan and Emily. Last few days Tala wasn't walking into the house till past dinner time, so if anything he could just ask him what he wanted for dinner.

As the dial tone rang in his ear, the front door opened, and Tala's ringtone was going off in his own back pocket as he stepped into the house with a questioning look on his face.

"Everything okay?" He asked, shutting the door behind him and heading to where Ray laid on the couch.

"Yeah, was just calling to see when you'd be home." Ray answered, ending the call since it was clear it wasn't needed and placed his phone on the table by his head.

"And wanted to see what you'd want for dinner if you were going to be late."

"Oh, well home now." Tala responded as he sat down on the armchair beside the couch, eyeing Ray a bit skeptically. "And whatever you want is fine with me, you sure you should be up on your feet though?"

"I'll be fine, the swelling should be down by dinner time anyways. What're you doing back so early though, everything okay?" Ray diverted, holding his breath almost immediately after as another contraction began to sweep through his body and hoping Tala didn't notice his slight shift.

"Yeah, I mean everything's coming along as it should finally. Bry says we'll be able to do it at the end of the month if he can get the program to work right."

"Mhmm. That's _good_." Ray responded in a hiss, shifting harder as he held his stomach as it tightened again and let out another breath through his teeth.

"Ray? Are you okay?" Tala asked, eyes going wide and sliding off the armchair to kneel in front of the couch where Ray laid.

"Yeah, just these stupid Braxton Hicks…." Ray panted back, feeling winded after that last one as a small sweat started to form under his hair line.  
Tala gave him a soft look, brushing his bangs back from his face lovingly. "You want me to get you some water?"

"No, I'm alright. Thank you though." Ray smiled a little at him, taking the hand that was in his hair and kissing the top of Tala's fingers gently.

"Lee say anything new?" He questioned while holding Tala's hand in his.

Tala shook his head to him, "Nothing useful at least, same thing as yesterday and the day before that. Still no actual sign of Anette or Kai or Brooklyn. It's just those damn Savages right now." He said with an eye roll, moving his free hand up to rub the swell of Ray's stomach.

"I ever tell you how cute you look pregnant?" He asked with a grin coming along his face, clearly not in the mood to talk shop right now with him.

He didn't want Ray stressing right now, he didn't want to be stressing either over things neither of them could change right this very second. And although Ray kept saying nothing was wrong he was a shit liar, yet all Tala could do was try and make him comfortable until he was ready to tell him what was wrong and whether or not they needed to get to the hospital.

Ray's own mouth stretched into a grin, "A few times."

"Never seen so many pregnant men in my life till we moved here." Tala joked with a light chuckle, causing Ray to chuckle back with him.

"Only place you will, too."

"Can you imagine Lee ever being pregnant?" Tala asked almost off handedly, just to see if he could really get Ray to laugh; it'd been so long since he'd heard him laugh…

Instead, Ray frowned a little at the question. "Not really, no. But he'd be a good father none the less. Looks at Kain like he's his own anyways, as does everyone from here." He said between shifting himself around again to get more comfortable, flopping his head down onto the armrest of the couch and staring up at the ceiling above his head.

Tala's brows furrowed in question, "Why is that a problem?"

"Because given what we know what will happen when Kain comes into his powers, Lee will want to train him…. And I don't want that." Ray answered in a low whisper almost.

"Well neither do I, he's not a weapon. He's a child. He wasn't given a choice in this, we were."

"Exactly. But Lee won't see it as that, he'll just see it as someone to add to our numbers." Ray added, rubbing a hand over his stomach. "And if this one is the same way… Then that's just one more number to him."

"Over my dead body." Tala nearly bit out in a growl, shifting on his knees to get more comfortable on the hardwood floor.

"They're _our_ kids, not his. He doesn't get a say in this."

"He's Head Elder." Ray sighed out.

"And you're _still_ the Director! Sure, right now you're benched, but not forever."

Ray shook his head with another sigh, keeping his eyes up at the ceiling while his hand rubbed at his stomach and feeling it starting to tighten on him again.

"Whatever happens… Because I know _him_… It's not going to end good." He hissed out between breaths, sitting up this time as the pain jolted him up.

Tala let out a sigh of his own, placing his hands on Ray's thighs. "Kit… Are you in labor?"

Ray shook his head at him, fangs sinking into his bottom lip and eyes screwing shut as another contraction came rolling in right after the last and hitting in harder.

"I think you are." Tala said in a sing-song voice, rising to his feet and pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"I'll call Mariah, have her come sit with Kain."

"I'm _not!_" Ray cried back at him, nearly doubling over where he sat as he breathed through it best he could.

"Yeah… I don't think that's selling it to me Kit." Tala just shook his head at him, the dial tone ringing in his ear as he went back to their room to pack up a bag for them quickly while he called Mariah up.

As the last contraction released it's hold on him, Ray threw his legs off the side of the couch, once more feeling winded and tired. That drink of water not sounding too bad now but legs too weak to stand and get it himself, so stayed on the couch waiting for Tala to come back and help him stand when another contraction coursed through his back and stomach more painful than all the others.

_"__TALA!"_

* * *

The loud echo of heels clacking along stone was almost deafening as Anette quickly rushed down the halls of the underground tunnels below the Abbey, the cold air not even nipping at her as her heat kept it at bay. Hey crimson eyes nearly blazing as she made her way through the winding halls and towards the heavy metal doors before throwing them open, everyone who was behind their computers typing away and focused on their work all jumped at the sudden and unexpected entrance as the doors hit the back walls.

Everyone who had been standing stood up to attention as they faced her, Anette's burning eyes sweeping through the room till they landed on shaggy brown hair and round glasses that were starting to tremble once they made eye contact.

"You, come with me." She pointed out at Kenny with a slim finger, staying by the doors.

Kenny, despite shaking like a leaf, nodded back to her and peeled himself away from his work station and headed over to where she was by the doors. A sweat starting to form on his skin just by the heat coming out from around her alone as well as the fear he felt coursing through his veins.

He'd been harbored and held captive for months now under her, knew well enough not to cross her given her temper and what she could do with a simple flick of her wrist.

He'd never heard of her before until she came waltzing into the lab back in Russia when he'd taken Kain down to run tests on him. When she'd come in and knocked him out cold with some drug she'd gone and injected into him with no way of him being able to fight back.

What happened after that was just a blur, waking up in a cold cell and on an even colder and damp stone floor. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been knocked out for or how long it was till someone came in to feed him or inform him of where he was or what had happened, and when he was finally graced with someone's presence it was her that came to his cell door informing him of what had happened to him and his friends.

He'd never felt so sick in his life as she gave every fine detail of the kind of destruction she'd gone and caused, what she'd done to him and ultimately what her grand goal all along was. The only slight relief he felt was that she still hadn't gotten her hands on Kain, though that relief was quickly washed down the drain when she went on to bragging about having both Kai and Brooklyn in a cell just down the hall from his own.

It'd taken almost a month before he'd gained her trust enough for her to let him out of his cell, though even before that she had him working under her. Needing his brains for her plans to keep moving forward and giving him Boris' old blueprints to the memory wipe she wanted to put Kai through.

Kenny slaved over it, day and night, looking for a way to do it properly without dismantling everything Kai was as a person seeing as how she was looking to release Black Dranzer and he had no idea what that would ultimately do to Kai's mind if she achieved her goal.

Though of course if he didn't do what she asked of him then he was no use to her, and in the long run, if he couldn't figure out a way to put in a fail safe somewhere in Boris' old blue prints, then he was no use to the others if he was dead.

It'd been a slow process from the first time they put Kai under, where he eventually fought back and came out of it and the second and third time were no better. Each time he seemed to come back out of it, a little dazed but no worse for wear. The fail safe Kenny had placed in it working as well as he could see, until they continuously kept Kai under.

Kenny stayed beside him as he slept, twisting and turning against his restraints as they pumped drugs into his veins and clouded his mind with the serums that would take away his memories of who he was and everything and everyone he knew and loved.

The longer they kept Kai under like that, Kenny wasn't so sure now if his fail safe would work anymore, and when they finally woke Kai up after a month and a half of keeping him under he wasn't just dazed he was confused and lost. Like a little boy who didn't know where his parents were or what even his name was.

That day, Kenny could remember it clearly, as it was the first time he'd ever seen Anette actually smile.

Although that had been three months ago, Kenny hadn't been privy to anything more on what was going on with Kai or Anette's plans, so with her calling him forward like this he was scared out of his mind about what it was she wanted from him.

"Come with me." She ordered to the shaking leaf, turning on her heels and leading the two of them down the damp halls again.

Kenny had no choice but to follow her through, swallowing the bile that was steadily rising in his throat as the sounds of her heels sounded more like gunshots ringing in his ears with every step she took before him until they finally stopped at the end of another winding hallway.

With a hard shove she pushed open another heavy set of metal doors, stepping back and letting Kenny walk in first where his legs nearly gave out on him instantly at the sight he'd walked in on while his mouth gaped open in silent shock.

"I must thank you, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have come this far." Anette's voice seemed to coo from behind him as she looked past his shoulder into the room she had brought Kenny into.

Between them, set up in the middle of the room, was a wall of glass that gave them a front row view of another room behind it. Inside the smaller enclosure there was nothing but a wall of blue flames licking up the glass, the heat coming from inside radiating out to where they stood that it made the hair on Kenny's arms and head curl while his heart slammed in his chest.

Through the blue flames they were staring at, a pale hand shot out and pressed against the glass making Kenny jump and his bones nearly rattle around inside his body as the heat from behind the glass stretched out around the room like it was trying to reach him and him alone.

With the pale hand that was pressed up against the glass, it was soon joined by a pair of coal colored eyes and a familiar face that soon came out of the blue flames as they licked around the pale body yet didn't burn or singe him. The same coal colored wings at his back folded over his shoulders, and although Anette was stood there in the room behind Kenny, Kai's eyes were focused solely on Kenny as his pale lips curled up into a smirk.

* * *

"It's alright Kit, we're almost there. Just breathe." Tala reminded as he drove the jeep along the bumpy dirt road, his free hand being crushed to death over the center console as Ray twisted it in his grasp.

"QUIT TELLING ME TO FUCKING BREATHE!" Ray spat out at him, his voice getting drowned out by the sound of thunder roaring overhead of them across the sky.

"Okay, okay… I'm sorry. Just.. Try not to call up a storm while we're on the road, yeah?" Tala tried to bargain instead, finding himself sweating more than his partner at the moment and taking a glance up at the darkening sky over their heads.

"I CAN'T HELP IT!" Ray screamed at him, lifting himself out of his seat to try and relieve the pressure from his hips as a contraction coursed it's way through his body.

"I know, I know Kit…" Tala sighed, trying to go as fast as he could but at the same time didn't want to jar them so hard along the bumpy roads that he was hitting the gas and breaks at the same time.

He couldn't remember the last time his nerves were this close to snapping, from having to call Mariah over to watch Kain and getting a bag packed for them and the baby and then trying to get Ray in the damn jeep to start with he was fixing to just call it a day and actually give Ray what he wanted at first and just go home.

Why Ray thought the baby wasn't coming was beyond him, the idiot nearly doubled over when Tala got back into the living room with their bags and tears in his golden eyes, yet _still_ insisted it was nothing to worry about.

Yes, it was two months too early, but clearly their little bundle of joy was ready and come heaven or hell they were coming now.

When Mariah pulled up to the house, it took both her and Tala to get Ray to the jeep kicking and screaming that he didn't want to go. That he just wanted some water and to go take a nap. He was fine, it was all fineeee.

About as fine as Tala's ass….

"Alright, alright. We're here." Tala said as he threw the jeep in park and cut the engine, wrangling and shaking his crushed hand from Ray's hold before jumping out of the truck and rushing over to Ray's side to help him out.

Shaking from the pain and the fear that had filled every inch of him, Ray clung to Tala's neck and shoulders, legs buckling the second his feet touched the ground and hissed through his teeth again as he tried to breathe.

"What about the bags?"

"I'll get the bags later, let's get you in!" Tala snapped at him, and if it wasn't for Ray fixing to give birth to their child he'd smack him for such a stupid question.

Keeping most of Ray's weight against his side, Tala led them into the hospital which wasn't what he was accustomed to at all. Even if most of the village was more modernized it looked as though this was one place that was still slowly coming together, and Tala was hit with a sudden bout of nerves.

They were going to have to cut Ray open, and back home he wouldn't had a problem with that, but here he wasn't so sure about that. Images of them using a hacksaw coming to mind as he helped Ray up to what he thought was the receptionist desk situated just near the front doors.

"Help, please. He's in labor." Tala nearly begged, reminding himself that this place saw more pregnant men than anywhere else in the world, they could handle this…

"Oh… Ray, you're not due for another two months sweetie."

"WE KNOW!" They both shouted at her, making the woman behind the desk recoil some.

"Okay, just hold on a second and let me call." She shakily said, holding a hand up to them and grabbing the phone off her desk.

Whatever she said into the phone next was lost on Tala as she went into Mandarin quickly, his hold around Ray tightening some as he glanced around the wooden shack.

Wasn't exactly where he'd ever picture his child being born, but to Ray it was home in a way… And right now it was his home too…

"If you can just take a seat, fill these out, they're preparing the rooms now and will get to you as soon as they can." The receptionist behind the desk said as she held out a clipboard towards the two of them, snapping Tala's attention back to her from his wandering.

"What do you mean rooms?" He asked with clear nervousness in his tone.

"Well… With the baby coming early, we'll need to get them into the NICU right after delivery." The receptionist explained.

Tala's pale face paled even more, though took the clipboard that was still being held out between them and nodded stiffly back to her.

"C'mon, let's get you off your feet." He cooed at Ray, dragging him towards some really uncomfortable looking chairs by the doors.

"I don't want to sit…" Ray whined at him, pulling away from the chairs and Tala's hold.

"Just let me stand. It hurts too much to sit." He begged as he got out from Tala's hold.

"O-okay…" Tala just nodded, plopping himself down into the chair and brought the clipboard up to fill out the forms he'd been given which he was surprised they had at all given they were in the middle of nowhere in China.

As Ray paced up and down, hissing through his teeth and rubbing at his back and stomach with each contraction, Tala was quickly scribbling down everything that he could on the forms they'd been given only to pause at the last line that made his heart drop to the pit of his stomach when he was presented with the question on what to do if things didn't go the way they needed to and he lost either Ray or the baby, or both during the procedure…

Tears sprung in his eyes at the question alone, his mind running in twenty-one directions as his hand shook with the pen against the paper as he didn't even know what to write down as his answer.

How could he even answer that kind of question?!

* * *

"B-but you don't know if he's stable enough!" Kenny yelled as he rushed after Anette, his entire body still shaking after what he'd witnessed and seen not even an hour ago.

"I don't need him stable; I need him _exactly_ the way he is." Anette bit back at him over her shoulders, once more rushing through the winding tunnels of the Abbey back to her own office.

"But if you can't control him then he'll burn _everything_ to the ground!" Kenny shouted after her, and even in his older age his voice pitched like it used to do when he was a teenager.

Anette stopped mid-stride, whipping around where her crimson eyes blazed dangerously, and a sprout of fire flared up between her and Kenny along the floor making Kenny jump in the air and back from her.

"And do you really think I care?! This is what I've been waiting for! For months I've waited for some kind of sign that we didn't lose his powers while he was put under and _now _that we know he hasn't lost them then now is the time to use him!" She scorned, the flames between them growing in size along the stone floor.

"Let him lose control, it's exactly what I want anyways. Now get out of my sight before I make you a pile of ash." She sneered and Kenny didn't need telling twice to leave her be and run in the opposite direction to where the safety of his desk was.

Anette watched him go, the flames along the floor dispersing as she turned on her heel once more to her own office.

There was much left to be done now that Black was finally awake, and at long last her plans were finally coming together perfectly even without her nephew in her clutches. Though, that was still something she could always work on later.

* * *

Tala glanced at the clock on the wall with worried eyes, what had only been a few minutes since coming in and sitting down felt like hours to him with Ray still pacing up and down the space in front of him and the forms finally being filled out.

He was sure by now Ray was tired being on his feet, no doubt it wasn't helping the swelling in them either at the moment, but truth be told he didn't want to get yelled at again so kept his mouth shut and eyes darting from Ray to the clock until they were finally approached by who he hoped was the team of doctors to come and end their torment.

"Ray, they're ready for you now sweetie." One of them gently cooed like nothing was amiss, and Tala was sure Ray wanted to punch her in the face.

All at once, like those words had cast a magic spell on him, Ray's pacing stopped dead in his tracks while he lost about three shades of color in his face.

Tala was up by his side, sensing his hesitation and placed a hand to his lower back.

"It's gonna be okay, I'm right here."

"Actually, we need you to come with me so we can get you sanitized first. Once that's done then you'll be able to go in the room with him." Another, more shorter, male nurse explained and for whatever reason Tala wanted to punch him.

Granted he did this when Kain was born, knew how to go about it and all and knew he had to wear those godawful looking blue scrubs and hair cap, but given that this one was coming early and Kain came on time, he didn't want to be away from Ray's side for even a second.

"A-alright… I'll be there before you know it. Okay?" He turned to Ray, his hand slipping from around his back and placed a quick kiss to his sweaty cheek as he followed the short male off down the hall.

The sooner he was in and out the sooner he'd be back by Ray's side.

"Do you want a wheelchair?" The head doctor directed at Ray once Tala and the other male were gone now.

"I just want them _out_." Ray cried, trying his best to hold in the look of pain that crossed over his face as he got his feet unglued from the floor and waddled up to the team of doctors so they could get it over and done with. He was beyond done being in pain.

The head doctor just smiled sympathetically and Ray really did want to punch her then for it, though continued to follow the team down the hall to the room they set up for him.

* * *

Tala held his breath as the room he'd been ushered into had fallen into a deadly silence, hand clutched in Ray's where they'd finally set him up with some pain medications and a large blue tarp strung up from the ceiling that made a barrier between his chest and lower stomach now with the team of doctors behind it as they cut him open.

To Tala's great relief there were no sounds of a hacksaw being started up, but the silence was beginning to grate and flare his nerves up even more as he sat on the stiff backed chair they'd placed at the head of Ray's bed.

All the while, with an almost dazed and glossy sheen in his eyes, Ray just stared up at the ceiling. Numb from the waist down yet even without feeling the pain anymore, his nerves were just as frayed as Tala's were at the moment.

With a heavy and slow breath coming out of him, Tala brushed the bit of bangs that the doctors hadn't been able to collect in Ray's own hair cap from his face. Words of encouragement sitting on the tip of his tongue but unable to actually speak them to him at the moment lest they miss the first cries of their baby when they finally freed them from Ray's womb.

He tried to recall how long it'd taken them to retrieve Kain, though Tala was sure it hadn't taken as long as this was, and even the sound of the clock on the wall grated on his sensitive eardrums.

When all hope seemed to be lost, that whatever grand secret the doctors were hiding on the other side of the blue tarp they'd place between them, the sounds of a newborns cries filled the room and the rushing of feet and orders being given left and right came right after.

Like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Tala's muscles relaxed as he peeked around the tarp best he could to get a look though amongst all the blue smocks and hair caps it was hard to really see anything going on, though noticed the blood on the gloves and sleeves just fine.

"Little girl, two pounds and fifteen inches long." He heard one voice announce.

Tala didn't even notice the small tear fall from his eye when he turned around to Ray on the bed, who now had tears in his eyes as their daughter continued to cry on the other side of the room over the other voices.

"A little girl." Ray's raspy voice whispered up to him, a wobbly smile setting in on his drying lips.

Tala kept looking back and forth between the masked minions and Ray a little dumbfounded. He had a baby? And a little princess at that?

He nodded for some reason, bottom lip fighting to stay in as he made a noise that sounded something like a wolf pup trying to howl for the first time.

"Its _hnnnn!_"

For the first time in what seemed forever, Ray belted out a laugh, the tears that had accumulated in his eyes finally rolling as he nodded back to him. Too choked up to really form anything coherent back to him as he squeezed Tala's hand only for their attention to get drawn to a nurse walking up and carrying said _hnnnn_ towards them swaddled and cleaned up.

"Here you go Papa, just for a little bit though as she'll need to get to the NICU for tests and under some light." The nurse said as she held out the little bundle that looked as if they'd put a blanket around an eggplant.

The weird strained pup howl came out full pelt as the minuscule weight got put in his arms.

"_Hi baby girl!_" He wept, "Ray look! She's looks like you could put her in a salad!"

"Don't put my daughter in a salad." Ray lightly chuckled as he took in the sight of the tiny little bundle pressed up against Tala's chest.

As much as he wanted to hold her too, he couldn't get enough of the sight before him. All his broken nerves seeming to mend right then and there as Tala gushed over their little girl.

_"Ray her hand just moved!" _He wolf wailed, though managed to keep the decibel low as to not deafen the poor thing.

"And she's the wrinkliest thing but she's still the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen!"

If Ray wasn't already madly in love with him, he was now. Although Tala had been teary eyed over Kain when he held him the first time this was different, and even if Tala always saw Kain as his own and always would, he knew this moment meant the entire world to Tala. Regardless of how painful it had been he was glad he could give this kind of happiness to him when they both needed it most.

"She is. Probably a good idea to name her now, so we don't just keep calling her 'her'." He chuckled.

"Princess is fine by me!" The other sniffed as he kept studying the new and goopy face that he was going to love and protect for the rest of his natural born life and then some.

"We're not naming her princess. Pick something else." Ray lightly scolded around the dumb grin that had permanently settled on his face.

Tala managed to tear his eyes away for a split second. "Feels right that you name her really. You're the one that grew her... _And you're amazing for it!_" He broke down again.

"Aw, babe." Ray gushed back at him for once and lifted his head to get a better look at their daughter so he could try and think of _something_ on such short notice.

With Kain he had time to think of a name, not that it was an overly impressive name in the end when he thought about it later, just stuck an N at the end of Kai and called it a day... Probably couldn't do the same with his or Tala's name.

"I'm not really sure... Are you sure you don't want to? She's taking your last name after all."

Tala shrugged. "Well if you insist! I wanna call her Nikita!" He grinned through puffy tears. Had names in the bank since she was a speck in his belly.

"Nikita?" Ray questioned, trying how it sounded and gave a nod in approval.

"I like it."

"Oh thank fuck for that..." The other sighed out before going back to gushing. "Hey Nikita... I'm your daddy... Yes I am!" He baby talked at her.

Ray just rolled his eyes even though Tala wasn't looking his way anymore, letting his head fall back onto the bed while Tala gushed some more, and he fought sleep off for a bit longer.

"Sorry hun, we have to take her now. But you can come with if you'd like." The nurse from earlier approached again, coming for Nikita to put her in the NICU.

Tala held her away. "Hang on a minute, we're bonding!"

The nurse coiled back a little, not sure what to do with her outstretched hands she'd put out for the babe and warily glanced over at Ray slowly passing out from the exhaustion of the day.

"You can carry her?" She offered instead.

Tala still whined. But it was something. "Damn right I am... I'm her father." DAMMMMNNNN that felt good to say out loud.

The nurse just nodded as she pulled her top and bottom lip in to keep her unkind comments to herself, wasn't the first time she'd dealt with an overly excited Papa and he wouldn't be the last either...

She motioned for him to follow her out of the operating room quietly while the others were moving in around Ray to take down the tarp now that he was cleaned and stitched back up.

"I'll be right back..." He told him quietly before he went to focus on carrying her.

Out of fear of dropping her, he suddenly was struck with panic as to whether he could remember how to walk properly. Eaaassssyyyy Tala... You can shoot a man between the eyes from 20ft. You got this...

How did Kai seem so calm when Kain was born? Emotional, sure. He sunk a little at the thought. He should be there meeting his new daughter... Freaking out with him.

"Okay, see you in a few." Ray waved them off, a little smile back on his face that Tala barely caught before walking out the room.

"Once we get in, we'll have to do some blood work and get her fed. If you'd like to do that while we're getting the blood work done? After she feeds she'll need to go under the light for a few hours, have a heart monitor placed on her for a while. You're free to come in and see her anytime, of course, but we won't know how long her stay will be until her blood work comes back.

"As long as she's gaining a good amount of weight though, and everything looks to be in order, she shouldn't be in here no longer than a month." The nurse informed Tala as they wandered down the halls.

Tala stopped wandering. "A month!?"

The nurse nodded back to him, "If all goes well, yes. Given she's premature there's a lot of complications that can arise. Although all her organs are developed they're weaker than what a fully developed babies would be. Normally we like to keep them for the remainder of how long they should have stayed inside the womb, but it's mainly circumstantial."

Tala pouted. Of course they needed to do their thing, make sure she was healthy. But still... Wanted her home with them.

"She's in good hands, I promise you. Not the first preemie we've had delivered here." The nurse tried to soothe, "Our main objective is to make sure she keeps a steady weight and body heat."

Coming up to a wooden door she pushed it open and let Tala in first into a small room that was fitted with a rocking chair in the corner beside what looked like a fish tank and oversized heat lamp hovering above it with wires laid out on the small padding inside it that ran to a machine.

"Can sit there and I'll get a bottle prepared, another nurse will come in to draw some blood in a few minutes." She gestured at the rocking chair for him.

Tala nodded, getting himself sat while the nurse left him to rock her back and forth while some more tears came. He'd been so excited to meet her, it hadn't registered how dangerous it was for her to be out. And he thought he had to wait til her teens to worry about that kind of crap...

He gave her tiny doll head a gentle stroke. His poor baby...

Bringing the new Papa the bottle of formula and giving him a few pointers, the nurse left him to it. Shutting the door behind her as she left while down the hall the others had gotten Ray moved into his own recovery room for the night.

Even though he was beyond exhausted, body and mind begging for sleep with the drugs flushing out of his system and the feeling in his lower half slowly returning, he sat there on his bed staring at the wall in another mindless daze almost.

While they'd gone and moved him they'd given him the same run down Tala had been given about Nikita, how long she'd be staying and that was only _if_ things for her progressed well and continued to do so.

While not only was his heart heavy with worry about his daughter, it was heavy with worry about his son he'd left back home in Mariah's care without really a word on where he went or what was going on (even if a one-year-old wouldn't really understand it all) he still worried about what kind of havoc Kain was causing Mariah right now.

And although he'd done his best to keep the worst thoughts at bay for as long as he could, now that he was alone they crashed into him anyways as hard as they could and brought out the water works.

Kai should be there with them, celebrating, worrying, holding both of them up right now and telling them that things would be okay. Be the rock that they knew him for when neither of them could really find it in themselves to do it.

The worst thought that hit him the hardest; he hadn't even gotten to hold her yet...

He didn't have to wait too long for a different baby to show up though , bright blue eyes puffy as he sniffled his way in.

"How you holding up, Kit?"

As if trying to hide the fact he'd been a horrible mess, Ray went to furiously wiping at his face with the back of his arms while nodding to him to try and signal that he was fine.

"How is she?" He asked back, she was more important right now than him anyways.

Tala nodded back at him as he continued to shift to his bedside. "Oh she's fine!"

"Are _you _okay?" Ray asked as he took in the redness of his eyes, shifting over to give Tala room beside him on the small bed.

"Oh I'm fine!" He bullshat in the same tone as he climbed right in beside him and buried his head in his shoulder.

Putting an arm around him, Ray pulled Tala closer and ran his hand up and down his arm.

"No. You're not. So what's wrong?" He asked in a soft tone.

Tala wanted to rub his belly out of habit but managed to stop himself before he did. That woulda hurt.

"I just don't understand why she came out..." He sniffed, "Did something happen, and you not tell me?"

Ray sat quietly for a minute as his tired brain processed the question, "What do you mean? Nothing happened, she just came. If anything it's probably all the stress I've been under." He offered, feeling horrible suddenly as if Tala was blaming him.

"But I did the best I could to make it less for you!" Tala cried back at him.

"I know you did; you did amazing. Really. It's not your fault, Tal. It just happens." Ray tried to explain, hand rubbing harder on Tala's arm and really feeling worse.

"Our daughter is an idiot! Why else would she chose to come out two months early!?" He cried before the tone switched completely, "Did you see her!? She's so fuckin tiny!"

"Well... I mean you are her father..." Ray tried to joke before he nodded and smiled a little, "She is tiny, and perfect, and will be fine. They're going to take good care of her. She's going to be okay."

"Course she's gonna be fine! She's a wolf-tiger!" He forced a smile as he looked up at him. He had to pull himself together. Ray was the one who just went through childbirth. It was his duty to make sure _his_ mind was put at ease.

Ray snorted a laugh and continued to nod, "Are you gonna be fine?"

Tala got himself more comfortable and nuzzled in to him.

"Of course I am. I have everything I ever wanted..."

...All but one, at least.

"Okay." Ray sighed, figuring if Tala wasn't going to crack he'd stop trying to pry.

Resting his head over Tala's he let his eyes finally close, not minding the cramped space since it meant he wasn't fully alone right now and needed him there beside him more than anything.

"When you go back to see her, wake me up so I can go too. Okay?" He asked quietly.

"Course I will. Let's all three of us get some rest and we'll go see her in the morning hm?" He offered softly.

"Mmk, sounds good. Love you." Ray whispered out.

"I love you too, baby mama..."

Ray's lips curled into a soft smile, nuzzling into Tala's hair and letting sleep finally take hold as a low purr seeped out of his chest. It had been an exhausting day, yet it was just the start and they both knew that.

* * *

"Kain Taxon Hiwatari, I_ said_ give it here!" Mariah scorned, hand out in waiting for the glass bowl the little boy had clutched to his chest, corned in the kitchen by the cabinets.

"NO!" Kain shouted back, holding his precious bowl closer to his chest with his tiny fangs being bared back at her.

Mariah let out a deep sigh, wanting to pull all of her pink strands from her head. She couldn't ever remember a time when Ray was this badly stubborn… Obviously it was due to his other father.

"I'm going to count to three, and that bowl better be in my hand by then young man." She warned sternly, beginning her count down slowly.

"NO! MINE!" Kain cried over her as she reached two, only for both of their attention to snap to the front door nearly flying open on it's hinges and smacking into the wall behind it.

"Mariah!" Lee's voice bellowed out, making both woman and babe jump at the sudden surprise and harsh tone he had used. The bowl in Kain's hand being dropped where the glass shattered along the floor under his bare feet and tears quickly springing to his crimson eyes at both the loud sounds and his bowl breaking.

"Jesus, Lee. The hell is the matter with you?!" Mariah snapped at him, her eyes slit at being startled and hair standing on end as her brother stomped his way into the kitchen.

With his face flushed and sweat running down his face, Lee panted slightly as if he'd run the entire way to Ray's house. His own yellow eyes slit and hair a mess around his head.

"H-have you looked at-at the news?" Lee panted out, holding onto his side where it cramped on him.

Mariah arched a brow at him, "What, no? Why would I? Been a bit busy." She gestured at their screaming nephew.

"Turn it on…" Was all Lee gave her through another pant, pushing past her to pick up Kain from the shattered glass on the floor.

Mariah continued to stare at him with a questioning look though did as he said and went into the living room, turning the TV on and flicking through the channels to find a news station before sitting down on the couch where Lee came and sat down beside her with Kain more content on his lap with his crocodile tears rolling down his pale cheeks.

"Lee…. What on earth?" Mariah asked, her mouth gaped and eyes wide at the screen in front of them as the cameras panned over a raging fire of blue flames over a city.

"It's happening." Lee breathed back, his eyes too glued to the screen with hers as the cameras continued to pan over the destruction of the city and more fires and buildings that had been burnt to the ground.

"What do we do?" Mariah asked in a whisper.

Lee went silent for a moment, his hand gently rubbing Kain's back as the little boy hiccuped from his crying fit earlier on his lap.

"We kill him…"

Mariah swallowed hard, eyes shifting to the little boy on her brother's lap and let out a soft sigh as her hand reached out and carded through the dark strands of messy hair, the bits of slate catching in the light.

"Okay." She whispered again, as if she were afraid talking any louder would upset Kain somehow like he'd know what or who they were talking about and turned her attention back to the TV.


End file.
